Four miners died after inhaling toxic fumes from a fire in a coal shaft in the northern part of the country, state media said.
“There was a blast initially because of a methanol fire in one of the mine shafts operated by Thong Nhat Coal company in Quang Ninh province,” police newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan said.
Four workers suffocated due to the deadly gas released after the incident early yesterday, with seven others also injured, according to the report. The bodies have been recovered, the newspaper said, with local authorities pledging financial support to the victims’ families.
The injured are being treated at a nearby hospital, media reports said, without giving further details. The Cong An Nhan Dan report added that the fire had been brought under control.
Deadly mining accidents are not infrequent in Vietnam, which, despite ramping up its green credentials, still relies heavily on coal-fired power plants.
Accidents claimed at least 10 workers’ lives at Vietnam’s state-run coal and mining group last year, local reports said. — AFP
