"China Coal Mine Explosion Kills 21, Traps 16"

Rescuers preparing to go into the mine.

In Yuzhou, 430 miles south of Beijing, China, there was an explosion in the Pingyu Coal and Electric Co. Ltd mine. 276 workers were in the mine, 239 escaped, 21 miners are confirmed dead and 16 were trapped. There were 70 rescuers attempting to rescue the trapped miners, while on the mission, they had to worry about gas levels at 40% (usually they are at about 1%), and chunks of coal that had been loosened by the explosion. The explosion happened as "workers were drilling a hole to release pressure from a gas buildup to decrease the risk of explosions." China's mining industry is the most dangerous in the world, last year 2,600 people were killed in accidents. While making effort to improve mine safety, they still have a lot of work to do. China relies on coal for about two-thirds of its energy, this high demand has lead to many illegal mines which greatly add to the fatal accidents. 


I'm slightly confused if the 16 trapped miners in this story have been rescued or not... By the mood of the story, I'm assuming they have been, but it never specified that they were rescued, it just said that the bodies of the 21 dead miners were located and they were attempting to retrieve them. It's quite obvious we need to make some changes in the mining industry, especially in China. 2,600 people died last year just in mines, that number should be zero. This story may be in another place, but it's the same old story we have come accustom to in the last few months. It always seems like big news stories like this come in groups. It was sometime last spring that we heard the first of the trapped miners (which also was in China), then we had the more dramatic story in Chile and now, with the celebration of rescuing those trapped in Chile, we have another trapped miners story. This also has been happening recently with bullying leading to suicides. I think it's sad that we have to let things get this extreme; that so many people have to die for us to get the message that things need to be changed. Shouldn't we in the very beginning be thinking of how we can make the situation best for people, how we can assure their safety and happiness, and then change with the times to better the conditions? That's what would make the most sense to me.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39697051/ns/world_news-asiapacific/