| Johnny Depp's surprise school visit Hollywood star Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at a school assembly in south London after one of the children wrote to him with an invitation. bbc.co.uk |
Somali pirates release minister A government minister kidnapped by pirates in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland is freed without a ransom being paid, officials say. bbc.co.uk |
Rescuers fear for miners trapped by China explosion Eleven people remain unaccounted for as death toll from blast in Yuzhou rises to 26Rescue workers today said they feared the 11 Chinese miners trapped by a gas blast yesterday could have suffocated or been buried by coal dust as loved ones kept a vigil.The death toll from the explosion at the Pingyu Coal & Electric Co mine in the city of Yuzhou, about 430 miles (690km) south of Beijing, has risen to 26, with five more bodies recovered.The developments unfolded as the world continued to celebrate Chile's successful rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for more than two months.Du Bo, the deputy chief at the Chinese rescue headquarters, told the state-run Xinhua news agency that hopes the 11 others were still alive were slim."On past experience, the remaining 11 miners could be buried in coal dust, so the survival chances are frail," Du said.Rescuers had to clear tons of dust from the mineshaft to reach the trapped workers, and faced dangerous gas levels and the risk of falling rocks as they worked their way into the pit.An initial investigation showed that 6m cubic ft (173,500 cubic metres) of gas rushed out, Xinhua reported. The outburst generated enough force to throw 2,500 tons of coal dust into the pit."Fortunately, there was no gas explosion. Otherwise, the consequence would be disastrous," Xinhua reported a rescuer named Wang as saying. Wang said most victims were thought to have suffocated.The gas was not specified, but methane is a common cause of mine blasts and coal dust is explosive.The explosion happened as workers were drilling a hole to release pressure from a gas buildup to decrease the risk of explosions, the state work safety administration said.David Feickert, a coal mine safety expert who advises the Chinese government, said draining methane gas from the coal seam requires great care."You can have a gas outburst that bursts out, knocks the coal down, brings some of the roof down," Feickert, who is based in New Zealand, said."In that mine, they're just going to have to review the way they drain methane ... because there's obviously considerable pockets of gas there that must be greater than they were expecting."Efforts to lower the density of the gas in the pit by increasing ventilation have been hampered by coal blocking a 550ft (170 metre) shaft, which rescuers say will take them until Wednesday to clear, state media reported.Two dozen police officers were stationed outside the mine's main gate today, preventing anyone from entering the site without authorisation.He Qiaofei, the mother of a missing 20-year-old miner who has worked in the mine for about a year, said: "This place is not even safe. They don't care about the workers' safety – they only care about their production."Two years ago, another gas blast at the same mine killed 23 people, state media reported.Mining fatalities in China have decreased in recent years as many illegal mines have been closed or absorbed into state-owned companies, but have increased again in the first half of this year.At least 515 people have been killed in coal mines, not including the toll from yesterday's blast.ChinaMiningMiningguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Union fury at 'get on bus' remark The Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has angered trade unions after suggesting unemployed people should get on a bus to find work. bbc.co.uk |
Indonesian tsunami survivor tells of terrifying wall of water Surfer describes moment his boat and crew were swept into the jungle by Indonesian tsunamiRick Hallet has been riding the Mentawai Islands' powerful waves for more than a decade, chartering boats for surf safaris to the legendary break. But no wave has ever terrified him like the wall of water that hurled his boat, Midas, into the jungle on Monday night."We were surfing at a break called Macaroni and at the end of a very good day, after dinner, six of the guests, myself and another crew member were on the back playing cards, singing and having drinks as you do when you're on holidays. We were pretty close to getting ready to go to bed and then we heard an almighty roar and one of the guests asked me 'What's that?' and immediately I thought it was a tsunami."Looking out to sea there was a wall of white water stretching across the bay, about a kilometre wide and about three metres high, racing at us."When I realised what was happening I got all the guests to go to the top deck and brace for the impact and got the crew to start the engines. It was moving so fast there was barely any time to react."There was another boat anchored outside of us, the water hit that first then it hit us. The other boat smashed into us seconds later. My boat was engulfed by a large fireball that started on the back deck and spread rapidly to the upper deck. The fire was totally out of control so we threw out as many surfboards and anything else that floated and jumped into the ocean. Most of us escaped from the top deck but there were three guests and the crew who were below but they managed to get out. One squeezed out through a porthole."In the water the ocean kept surging and washed us and the boat ashore. Some guys were carried almost 200 metres inland, smashing into the trees. I tried to hold onto trees, the boat's fender, anything as I was being washed through the jungle. There were explosions from gas bottles and compressors from air conditioning units on the boat. There was absolutely nothing left."When the water stopped surging we climbed up trees as far as we could and clung there for about two hours in case of more surges. After about 45 minutes or an hour it went very quiet and I could hear what sounded like another wave but it was a long way away."It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. I've been surfing since before I was 10 and spent most of my life around the sea but to look out at night time and see a wall of water coming at you, I will never forget the sound. It was just incredible."IndonesiaNatural disasters and extreme weatherSurfingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |