China orders coal mines to conduct safety overhaul

[BEIJING] China has ordered all of the country's coal mines to conduct a safety overhaul in the past month, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, citing the deputy director of the country's work safety watchdog.

Mines should not be operating over capacity and miners should not be asked to work overtime as mines pushed to the limits are prone to accidents, Song Yuanming, deputy director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, said at an annual coal trade summit in Hebei province, Xinhua reported.

A flurry of accidents have alarmed regulators over the past month as China ramps up coal production to meet winter demand.

Thirty-three people died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in the southwestern city of Chongqing on Oct 31.

REUTERS