Li Rongrong, minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC), urged Saturday, August 4 in Nandan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, that the search for victims of a tin mine accident should be sped up and all-out efforts made to rescue possible survivors.
Regional Party Chief Cao Bochun and Chairman of the Autonomous Region Li Zhaozhuo also demanded trail to the bottom of the disaster and make explanations to the whole society.
But how can the truth be brought to light?
Truth may not emerge even if water subsides
People's Daily Online reporters who rushed to the spot feel deeply the difficulty in digging out all of the possible victims.
As is known, the flooded mine is 730-meter deep (of which over 100 meter below sea level) and 70-meter wide. There is only one mining license but 7 private companies were fighting for tin mining here.
Local people say this is a mine rich in tin more valuable than gold. So these greedy bosses, regardless of law, had been madly driving more than 2000 workers mining for them 24 hours on three shifts in pits of the 7 companies before the accident happened.
On the morning of August 4, reporters saw armed police guarding entrance of the mine, and water was being pumped out and wind blown in by air compressors. According to Zhao Guihua, a regional chief in charge of straightening out mining orders, currently there are 150,000 to 200,000 cubic meters of water at the press time in the mine and it needs 20 days to pump all of it out. The time may be longer considering the fact water is continuing leaking in. By August 5, all production in the mine had been halted and most of the 2000 workers had returned to their hometown, leaving only 200 people working around the clock to guarantee pumping water out. But from August 4, 7am to August 5, 7am, the water level only lowered by one meter.
A batch of miners interviewed say temperature in the mine is as much high as 40 to 50 Celsius degrees, and telephones can not be installed in because they get rusty in a few days.
Experts point out that victims' bodies have been soaked in hot water for 18 days since the accident occurred on July 17 and may get entirely putrid after all water will have been pumped out in 20 days. By then it is even difficult to find out their bones buried in mud. Some miners even say frankly the water pumping is in vain for the bodies, soaked in hot water, just like things stewed in a huge pot of soup over a slow fire. After 40 days it is practically impossible to recover their bones considering movements of sands, stones and water.
There are still other ways besides pumping water out
Is it the only effective way to pump out all water for confirming victim number?
Somebody suggests confirming the actual death toll by firstly finding out the name book of the 2000 miners owned by the 7 private companies. A local man in charge of recording miners' working shifts tells reporter secretly that every time he draws a circle on each miner's name before he goes into the mine, and salary is paid according to his record by month end. At 7 am, July 17 when he takes his turn on duty, he doesn't see coming up of night shift miners of July 16, neither going down of next shift miners. Therefore the death toll can be entirely confirmed by consulting the name list of July. When asked to show the book, he says it has been submitted to office at month end according to company regulations.
Others advise to immediately take away mine boss Li Dongming's compensation list, or estimate victim numbers by finding out the amount Li drew from banks around July 17, and confirm according to miners' name book.
Still others say the most urgent is to find out persons in the know, such as staff in charge of miner files, company finance, especially survivors of the disaster.
By August 5 it is known to the conrespondent that the person on duty for roll-call July 16 is named Li Jianian, the miner file manager is Huang Chunxiao, the person for managing miners going down that day is surnamed Liang, and a survivor found is known as Tan Naixiu, who is still living within the mining region.
