Mining and Construction

▪ 2003

      Early January, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Heavy rains trigger the collapse of a coltan mine; at least 30 miners are killed.

      January 14, Yunnan and Hunan provinces, China. At least 43 miners die in two separate disasters. A gas explosion in an unlicensed coal pit in Yunnan claims the lives of 25 miners, and in Hunan at least 18 miners are believed to have suffocated following a gas explosion.

      January 28 and 31, Central and Southwestern China. A total of 14 miners die in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Hengyang on January 28. Three days later a natural gas leak at a coal mine near the southwestern city of Chongqing causes 13 miners to suffocate, and another 8 are missing.

      February 25, Damietta, Egypt. An aging residential building collapses, claiming the lives of 22 persons.

      Early April, Jiangxi province, China. An explosion occurs while maintenance is performed at a coal mine; 16 miners die.

      April 9, Heilongjiang province, China. Two explosions occur at different mines in the same city, Jixi, on the same day. In the largest blast, 24 miners are killed and 40 injured at a coal mine. In the second incident, also at a coal mine, 7 miners die and 4 are missing.

      April 22 and 24, Sichuan province, China. A total of 11 miners are confirmed dead and 4 are missing in a gas explosion at a mine in Chongqing on April 22. Two days later a gas explosion at a coal mine in Panzhihua kills 23 miners.

      June 20, Mererani, Tanz. An oxygen pump fails at a tanzanite mine, causing the deaths of 42 miners working some 125 m (410 ft) underground.

      June 20, Heilongjiang province, China. In what is described as the fourth deadliest mining disaster in China's history, a gas explosion at the Chengzihe coal mine in Jixi leaves 111 miners dead and 4 missing.

      June 22, Shanxi province, China. An explosion at a gold mine claims the lives of at least 36 miners; authorities later search for four persons, including the owner of the mine and his foreman, who are suspected of having hidden dozens of bodies in an attempt to cover up the accident.

      July, Ukraine. Three separate mining disasters occur during a roughly three-week period. On July 7 in Donetsk, 35 miners die from smoke inhalation after a fire breaks out in their mine. On July 21 in the Dnepropetrovsk region, a methane gas explosion claims the lives of 6 miners, and another 28 are missing. At another mine in Donetsk on July 31, a gas explosion claims the lives of 20 miners.

      July 23, Mhondoro, Zimb. A shaft caves in at an abandoned gold mine, killing at least 15 persons who are mining illegally at the site.

      October 29, Nanning, Guangxi province, China. A fire at a coal mine claims the lives of 30 miners.

      December 6, Near Taonan, Jilin province, China. A fire at the Wanbao coal mine kills at least 25 miners.

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