China says mine accidents down in first 7 months

BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Fewer people died in China's often deadly mines in the first seven months of 2008 compared with the same period last year, a safety official said on Saturday, but warned that the situation remained serious. The death toll was 1,631 in the January to July period, a fall of 24 percent, spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety, Huang Yi, told a news conference.

"Of course, coal mining is still a dangerous activity in China. The safety situation remains serious," he said. "Although the number of accidents has dropped, there is still an effect on society."

China has the world's deadliest mining industry, a problem especially pronounced in the coal mining sector as mine owners push production beyond safety limits in the face of huge demand from a booming economy and soaring profits.

A total of 3,786 Chinese coal miners died in gas blasts, flooding and other accidents in 2007, down 20 percent from 2006.

Officials have said that China, undergoing rapid industrialisation, may need another decade before there is a drastic fall in mine and other industrial deaths.

There have been a spate of tragedies recently since Beijing, eager to boost coal output to cope with a power shortage, called on local governments to speed up approvals for the resumption of output at small mines which had been closed for safety reasons.

A coal shortage is pushing China into its worst power crisis since 2004, when rolling blackouts hit much of the country. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Valerie Lee)