China rescuers struggle to reach 180 trapped miners

XINTAI, China, Aug 20 (Reuters) Chinese rescue workers were frantically pumping water from flooded mine shafts today holding out slim hope of rescuing around 180 trapped miners.

The mine disaster is just the latest to strike China's coal industry, the world's deadliest, with more than 2,000 miners killed in accidents over the first seven months of the year.

Meanwhile, in another industrial accident last night, 14 people were killed in a spill of molten aluminium at a foundry.

The miners have been trapped since Friday afternoon when a burst river dyke sent water rushing into the mine shafts in the eastern coastal province of Shandong.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao signalled high-level attention with a weekend notice on the government's Web site (www.gov.cn) demanding that rescuers ''promptly mobilise equipment and personnel and adopt all necessary measures to rescue the trapped miners.'' By late yesterday, the water level had dropped several metres, state media reported, and drilling equipment from a nearby oil field had been installed to help with the rescue effort.

Water pumps from neighbouring provinces were also sent to the site and by yesterday a team of army troops, armed police and miners managed to block the levee breach on the Wenhe River, swollen from torrential rains.

China relies on coal to fuel its economic boom, and with domestic coal prices at record levels, some operators boost production beyond safe limits despite government efforts to enforce safety standards.

In another sign of dissatisfaction with the industry, a strike by hundreds of miners last week in the central province of Hunan turned into a riot when hired security personnel ordered them to stop, Radio Free Asia reported.

Because of their frequency, mine accidents in China do not garner the same media coverage as they do in the United States, where efforts to rescue six trapped miners in Utah have been front-page news for nearly two weeks.

In a separate accident to hit Shandong, 14 people were killed and 59 injured when molten aluminium burst from its container, Xinhua news agency reported.

The accident at the foundry affiliated to the Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co, Ltd, in Shandong's Zouping country, blew the roof off of the workshop, smashed window panes and cracked walls, Xinhua reported.

Officials were investigating the cause of the explosion, which called to mind a horrific accident in April in which more than 25 tonnes of molten steel engulfed a room where workers were changing shift, killing at least 32.

REUTERS SW BST0930