Mining Accidents and Disasters

Holdouts in Pa. town above decades-old mine fire claim condemnations part of 'massive fraud'. Centralians have long believed the government's demolition of their beloved town in the 1980s was part of a plot to swipe the mineral rights to anthracite coal worth hundreds of millions of dollars ? and not, as state and federal officials said, the solution to an out-of-control underground mine fire that menaced the town with toxic gases.

Holdouts in Pa. town above decades-old mine fire claim condemnations part of 'massive fraud'. The few remaining residents of a Pennsylvania coal town decimated by a 48-year-old underground mine fire claim in court papers that a "massive fraud" is being perpetrated by parties seeking to grab the mineral rights to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of anthracite coal.

Rescuers say little chance of survival for 31 trapped a week ago in mine in northern China. No signs of life have been detected from 31 coal miners trapped underground for a week by a flood in northern China, state media reported Sunday.

A flood left dozens of workers trapped in a coal mine in northern China's Inner Mongolia region on Monday, the mine's owner said.

Turkish government lowers death toll in mine collapse to 13. The government on Wednesday said 13 workers were killed in a coal mine collapse in northwestern Turkey, not 17 as previously reported.

Lawmakers warn huge backlog in mine safety cases could undermine crackdown on repeat violators. Stepped-up enforcement of mine safety laws has caused such a backlog of new cases that delays could undermine a crackdown on repeat violators, lawmakers warned Tuesday.

China coal mines safer, but will need 10 more years for fundamental changes, official says. China's coal mining industry, the world's deadliest, has improved dramatically but will need another decade to make more fundamental changes, the country's mine safety director said Saturday.

Pa. wants last Centralia holdouts gone as town's coal mine fire, ignited in 1962, smolders on. Standing before the wreckage of his bulldozed home, John Lokitis Jr. felt sick to his stomach, certain that a terrible mistake had been made.

China reports drop in coal mine deaths, accidents for 2009. The number of deaths in China's mining industry, the world's deadliest, fell 20 percent last year as more dangerous smaller mines were closed, a safety official said.

An abandoned mine in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo collapsed killing eight members of one family including five children, a local government official said Monday.

Tin mine collapse in mineral-rich Congo kills 6 people, including 5 children and a mother. A U.N. radio station says six people ? including five children ? have died in a tin mine collapse in southeast Congo.

Tin mine collapse in mineral-rich Congo kills 6 people, including 5 children and a mother. A U.N. radio station says six people ? including five children ? have died in a tin mine collapse in southeast Congo.

Official says 12 people killed in southeastern China coal mine fire. A fire in a southeastern China coal mine trapped and killed 12 workers, an official said Saturday, in the latest fatal accident for China's mining industry, the deadliest in the world.

Reporter sentenced to 16 years in conspiracy to cover up China mine accident ahead of Olympics. A Chinese journalist has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for taking bribes to help cover up a coal mine disaster just before the Beijing Olympics, his lawyer said Wednesday. More than 50 local officials and journalists also face charges.

Death toll in China coal mine fire climbs to 25; 3 workers remain trapped underground. A fire in a coal mine in central China killed at least 25 workers, and search efforts continued for at least three others trapped underground, state media reported Wednesday.

A fire in a coal mine in central China has killed 25 miners, authorities said Wednesday, with several others still believed to be missing.

Reporter sentenced to 16 years in conspiracy to cover up China mine accident ahead of Olympics. A Chinese journalist has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for taking bribes to help cover up a coal mine disaster just before the Beijing Olympics, his lawyer said Wednesday. More than 50 local officials and journalists also face charges.

Death toll in China coal mine fire climbs to 25; 3 workers remain trapped underground. A fire in a coal mine in central China killed at least 25 workers, and search efforts continued for at least three others trapped underground, state media reported Wednesday.

A fire in a coal mine in central China has killed 25 miners, authorities said Wednesday, with several others still believed to be missing.

A fire in a coal mine in central China has killed 18 miners, authorities said Wednesday, as rescuers searched for 12 others still missing.