Six University Students Drown While Visiting Mine In China

HONG KONG — Six students from a assemblage successful China drowned Wednesday aft falling into a flotation vessel while visiting a excavation successful nan country’s Inner Mongolia region.

The students from Northeastern University successful Liaoning state were watching nan flotation process erstwhile a grid sheet they were opinionated connected abruptly gave way, causing them to autumn into nan tank, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency.

“Despite rescue efforts, each six students were confirmed drowned aft being pulled from nan tank. One coach was besides injured,” Zhongjin Gold, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Gold Group that operates nan mine, said successful a institution filing Thursday.

Flotation tanks are utilized to abstracted different types of mini mineral particles, said Richard Williams, main and vice chancellor of Scotland-based Heriot-Watt University, who has a inheritance successful mineral engineering.

Anyone who falls into nan vessel could walk done nan heavy foam connected apical “and past find themselves successful a mixed slurry aliases successful interaction pinch nan mixer blades,” Williams said successful emailed comments.

“These types of accidents are rare. But excavation information remains a world situation owed to nan quality of nan work,” he said.

Zhongjin Gold, which is listed connected nan Shanghai Stock Exchange, plunged astatine Thursday’s unfastened and ended nan time down 4.41%.

Calls to Northeastern University went unanswered connected Thursday.

The flotation shop had been carrying retired method upgrade projects, including replacing level grating panels connected nan second-level level to reside on-site information risks, according to an article that China National Gold Group Inner Mongolia Mining Co. published successful February connected its charismatic WeChat account.

“In 2024, nan flotation shop achieved zero safety, environmental, aliases occupational wellness incidents, gathering nan ‘zero accidents’ information goal,” nan article said.

Another article published successful July 2020 described nan flotation shop during nan summertime arsenic a “giant steamer,” wherever workers were drenched successful sweat.

Both articles, which were viewed by NBC News, were deleted connected Thursday day aft they were quoted by respective media outlets.

The mishap has been a apical chat taxable connected societal media successful China, which is 1 of nan world’s apical producers of galore awesome minerals and has a agelong history of excavation information issues.

In January 2024, nan Chinese authorities said it was introducing strict measures to “curb nan predominant occurrence” of mining accidents. The erstwhile year, location were 120 excavation accidents successful China resulting successful much than 250 deaths, according to nan country’s charismatic Mine Safety Accident Network.