At least four people have died and around 90 others remain trapped underground after dangerous levels of carbon monoxide were detected at a coal mine in northeastChinalate Friday, state media reported.
The accident occurred at the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi City at 9:43 p.m. local time, when 247 workers were below ground. Rescue operations were still ongoing in the early hours of Saturday morning.
By 3:33 a.m. local time, at least 157 people had been brought to the surface, according to Xinhua News Agency. That figure includes the four confirmed dead. At least 16 of those still trapped underground are reported to be in critical condition.
When a person breathes in carbon monoxide, it enters the bloodstream and attaches itself to hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen around the body. The problem is that carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin roughly 250 times more easily than oxygen does, meaning the body's tissues and vital organs are starved of the oxygen they need to function. Victims can lose consciousness and die before they even realise they have been exposed.
In an enclosed underground environment like a coal mine, where ventilation is limited and workers have nowhere to go, a sudden rise in carbon monoxide levels can become life-threatening within minutes.
China has a long and difficult history with coal mining accidents, with safety incidents at mines occurring with troubling regularity despite ongoing government efforts to tighten regulations across the industry.
With dozens of workers still unaccounted for and 16 in critical condition, the situation at the Liushenyu mine remained serious as rescue teams pressed on through Saturday morning.
Sagar is a journalist with an interest primarily in geopolitics and American domestic politics. Before joining Times Now, he wrote for Republic and Sw...View More
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