BEIJING, May 31 (Reuters) – A mine shaft collapse during an illegal mining operation in China’s southwestern Yunnan province killed five people and injured one, state media reported, days after the country’s deadliest mining accident since 2009 left at least 82 dead.
The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday (2030 GMT on Saturday) in Yunnan’s Huize County, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities. The report did not specify what mineral was being mined.
There was only one survivor out of six people rescued from the site and sent to hospital, Xinhua said, and the person was in stable condition.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident, which follows the May 22 deadly gas explosion at a coal mine in the northern Shanxi province. Apart from the 82 people killed, two remain missing and 128 were injured.
Chinese authorities have vowed a thorough investigation into the Shanxi disaster, as preliminary findings uncovered unmarked tunnels, missing trackers and fake doors at the mining site.
(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
