18 people trapped in a landslide at a gold mine in western China

Dec. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least 18 people have been trapped due to a landslide registered in a gold mine in the Chinese prefecture of Yili, located in the Xinjiang region (west), as confirmed this Saturday by the authorities of the Asian giant.

The Xinjiang Department of Emergency Management has detailed that the event took place around 1:40 p.m. (local time) and has added that at the time of the collapse there were about 40 people working in the mine, 22 of whom have could get out on his own.

The authorities have launched a search and rescue device to try to locate the other 18 miners, according to the CCTV television network. At the moment the causes of the collapse in the mine are unknown, whose perimeter is being secured to try to prevent further collapses in the area.

Accidents of this type are common in mines in China, a country with several major workplace safety accident cases. Typically, these incidents trigger a nationwide inspection campaign aimed at rooting out violations and punishing officials for shirking their supervisory duties.