I called the director of the Safety Supervision Bureau, Wang Fusheng, who was busy organizing rescue operations at the scene. His voice was unusually hoarse, and he said to me anxiously, "Brother, this is really a catastrophe! If anything happens to these miners, we will all be punished."
I quickly comforted him: "Brother, now is the time to think about these things. We must go all out and try to save as many people as possible. We can't give up any hope of survival. These miners are our class brothers. Was there really no sign before this flooding accident happened?"
He sounded a little annoyed and replied, "Based on the preliminary analysis of the current situation, the water is likely to have come from the cross-border mining area of the Tongshun Coal Mine. The Zhengtong coal mine has not been unsealed, and the power supply has cut off its electricity, so it is impossible to use water pumps to pump water. The water in the mining area is getting more and more, and the pressure is getting greater and greater, which eventually led to the flooding accident. But the final conclusion still needs further investigation to reach a conclusion. Are you heading here now?"
I responded, "Yes, I'll be there in a minute, don't worry."
After hanging up the phone, my brain started to work rapidly, trying to figure out whether this mining accident was a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, but I couldn't come to a clear conclusion for a while.
Just as we were about to arrive at the accident site, Zhang Weiguo called again to convey the latest instructions from the county party committee and government. The county has decided to formally establish the "9.22 Coal Mine Water Leakage Accident On-site Rescue Command Headquarters" and appointed County Mayor Zhang Xiaodong as the chief commander. At the same time, the county's full-time deputy party secretary, the deputy county chief in charge of production safety, the deputy county chief who also serves as the director of the Public Security Bureau, and a deputy secretary of the county discipline inspection commission jointly serve as deputy chief commanders. In order to effectively respond to this accident, the county's public security, production safety supervision, coal management, health, fire and other departments have quickly transferred elite personnel and unified them under the rescue command headquarters.
As for me, I was assigned to coordinate with the civil affairs, judicial and trade union departments to comfort and coordinate the families of the trapped miners, ensuring that they receive the necessary care and support during this difficult time.
Before reaching the Taixiang coal mining area, we saw crowds of onlookers outside the cordon, and several public security officers were on the scene to maintain order. Among them, several grief-stricken family members were supported by others, and they were obviously relatives of the trapped miners.
Witnessing this scene, a feeling of sadness and desolation arose spontaneously.
When I arrived at the mine entrance, I met Wang Fusheng, who was covered in sweat. As soon as he saw me, he shook my hand tightly as if he were a family member and said, "Brother, the situation is very good. The water level detection shows that the waterline elevation is much higher than the working surface elevation. I am afraid that these miners are in danger."
I suppressed my panic and asked tentatively with a glimmer of hope: "Is it possible to retreat to a higher operating surface?"
He said gloomily: "According to the hydrological monitoring data, this should be a typical water seepage accident in the goaf, showing the dual disaster characteristics of initial collapse and later water gushing."
His voice was so deep that it sounded like a verdict: "All escape routes were either instantly submerged or blocked by the continuous influx of water pressure. From the sudden flood to the present... there is almost no time window for escape."
I was in complete despair! Through the wellhead, I looked into the dark tunnel and saw rescue workers running in and out, laying more drainage pipes.
This is a mine with a single main tunnel, which is the only way to drain water. Several high-powered water pumps roared, competing for every second to pump water.
After nightfall, county leaders and various rescue teams arrived at Taixiang Coal Mine one after another.
In the dim light in front of the mine, I saw Zhang Xiaodong, who looked haggard, while the mine owner Zhang Weitang was like a child who had made a mistake, panicking and recounting the events of the accident.
I thought it was appropriate to say hello to them at this time, so I went to the town government guesthouse with Kuang Tieying, the full-time deputy secretary of the county committee who was in charge of coordinating news releases and comforting the family members.
Kuang Tieying was a former military officer who worked in political work in the army. He was in his fifties, handsome, and had a heroic look.
He quickly organized us to hold an impromptu meeting, clarify the focus of the work, and carry out the work according to the duties. I was responsible for the "one-to-one" connection with the family of a trapped miner named Tang.
After a preliminary investigation, I learned the following: This miner came from a rural area in Xi'an, and came to Taixiang Coal Mine with his family to work. His wife was a second marriage, and looked to be in her thirties. When I met her, she did not show extreme grief, but her ten-year-old daughter cried heartbreakingly.
Xiao Zhang from the town office accompanied me to talk to the mother and daughter. In order to comfort the child, I asked the little girl: "What's your name? How old are you?"
The little girl answered timidly with tears in her eyes: "My name is Tang Xiaomei, and I am ten years old."
This was the first time in my life that I met Tang Xiaomei, who would become my lover in the future! I was a full twenty years older than her.
Twenty years later, Tang Xiaomei nestled in my arms and recalled that moment with me. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I will never forget September 22, 2005. I lost my father who loved me so much, and you walked into my world from that moment on."
Let us take our eyes and thoughts back to that day. After some comfort, I arranged for the mother and daughter to stay in a guesthouse, and I returned to the office, lay down on the sofa, and called Qingwan to let her know she was safe.
Qingwan kept comforting me, saying that her mother was with her and everything was fine at home.
My eyelids became heavier due to fatigue and sleepiness. Just as I was about to fall asleep, my father-in-law called me again. I told him about the accident and he finally said, "Hongjun, you are still young and you should not be scared by the difficulties. No matter what the organization gives you in the future, you must give up. You must learn from the lesson and start over."
My voice was slightly choked as I managed to squeeze out a few words: "Dad, don't worry, I'm not that fragile."
The next day, the eighth brother Chen Kaite came to visit me from the factory, brought me a big bag of fruit, and reminded me to eat on time and eat more fruit to prevent eczema.
After seeing him off, I received calls of condolence from 깊 Linxun, Liu Yun, Wang Yanshu, Xu Shaojia, my master Fu Hongjun, and the fifth brother Zhang Zhihang.
Lin Xun, in particular, insisted on rushing to Tongxiang Town to visit me. I told her that the current situation was special and that the relationship between us and Zhang Weitang was sensitive, so a meeting would be very appropriate, so she gave up the idea.
The entire rescue work lasted for five days, and finally the bodies of six miners were found one after another, and the rescue work came to an end. Subsequently, the accident handling entered the post-investigation stage.
Before Zhang Xiaodong returned to the county, he met with me alone. He looked ashamed and said, "Hongjun, I didn't take good care of you, which led to this. You should be prepared, and you may be punished. In this accident, I had a serious disagreement with Secretary Liu of the County Committee. He planned to report the number of victims as two, but I firmly opposed it. This is an act of deceiving and concealing the truth, and it is a mistake on top of a mistake. As party members and cadres, how can we do such a thing? Nowadays, the Internet is so developed that such things cannot be kept secret at all."
I understand that the death of three people in a coal mine accident is an important boundary, and is the threshold between general accidents and major accidents. The level of an accident is directly related to the severity of accountability.
I understand Zhang Xiaodong. This time his conscience and sense of justice prevailed over his instinct to seek profit and avoid harm. And he himself will inevitably be punished this time.
I looked at his bloodshot eyes and just wanted to comfort him, but he suddenly asked me: "Although I believe in your character, I still have to ask you, have you ever received any benefits from Zhang Weitang?"