China mines close as disasters kill 50

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China's Sichuan province has ordered all small coal mines closed after a weekend spate of accidents killed 51 miners, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The toll included 39 convicts believed to have drowned when a prison-run coal mine filled with water on Friday near Yibin and 12 miners who were killed in two gas explosions on Sunday.

Small mines in the southwestern province would be closed and inspected by safety teams, while large mines were ordered to check safety conditions, the China Daily and Xinhua news agency reported.

The newspaper said the provincial government was considering pressing charges against officials if they were found to have broken laws or neglected their duties.

On Monday, a Sichuan Security Supervision Bureau official told Reuters rescue workers had given up hope of saving the 39 convicts trapped by surging waters in the prison-run Qinglongzui mine.

Xinhua, which did not identify the trapped miners as prisoners, said in initial reports rescuers were frantically trying to free them.

But the Sichuan official said they probably had drowned immediately when the water rushed into the mine.

On Sunday, explosions killed eight miners and trapped seven in a tiny coal mine in Guang'an county and four miners in another small mine in Yibin county, state media said.

China has a dismal coal mine safety record, with more than 5,300 people killed in accidents last year.