The country's top work safety agency has warned of a new wave of accidents as collieries that were forced to close because of the severe cold start operating again.
The buildup of deadly gases, flooding and unstable power supply at the mines could all cause problems, said a statement posted on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).
"Because of the effects of the weather, many coal mines lost power and had to shut down. Others closed over the Lunar New Year holiday, and small mines are starting to open again after the vacation, putting huge pressures on safety," it said.
"The safety situation is much more serious than in previous years."
In the southern provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, which have been hit hard by the recent snow and ice storms, close to 1,800 mines had accumulated gas due to power cuts, and a further 600 mines had been flooded, the statement said.
"Power supply to coal mines in disaster-hit provinces are not operating normally, leading to many hidden dangers," it added.
Earlier this month, nine people died in an explosion at a coal mine in northern
China, as the government ordered scores of pits to stay open to alleviate a national power shortage brought on by the bad weather. Accidents at coal mines claimed about 3,700 lives last year.
