Racing against time: Rescuers working at the collapsed open pit coal mine in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia. More than 600 people were killed in mining accidents in China in 2022. — AP
THE deadly coal mine accident in northern China last week has triggered nationwide safety checks, sparking concerns that the supply of the nation’s mainstay fuel could be disrupted just as demand is recovering.
China’s ministry of emergency management has dispatched 20 squads across the country to conduct inspections in order to prevent any further incidents.
Rescue efforts at the site in Inner Mongolia have been hampered by a landslide that followed the initial mine collapse on Wednesday that buried over 50 people and left six dead.
More than 600 people were killed in mining accidents in China in 2022.
The latest could prove to be one of the worst in years and has landed at a sensitive time on the political calendar, with the annual National People’s Congress set to begin in the capital on March 5.
The ministry officials have been tasked with plugging any gaps in safety, including assessing landslide risks and cracking down on poor management practices and illegal mining.
Past inspections have disrupted operations and affected supply, and the latest round of checks is coming just as the economy is starting to rebound after an extended Lunar New Year holiday and the end to Beijing’s restrictive Covid Zero policies.
“Safety checks combined with an infrastructure-led industrial recovery will boost coal demand,” the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association said in a note, although it added that anti-pollution controls heading into the Congress could cap gains. — Bloomberg
