... the tragic situation still unfolding in Utah, but a whole new mining tragedy taking place in China. .Heavy rains and flooding in Eastern China have trapped more than 180 coal miners .. Official word from China only puts a "slim" chance of the miners surviving..

Though the incident was natural in cause, the last few paragraphs from this Reuters story are extremely important to think about:

"Heavy demand for coal to feed rapid economic growth in the world's fourth-largest economy has led some mine operators to push production beyond safe limits, despite Beijing's efforts to crack down on corruption and lax enforcement of standards. Last year, 4,746 people were killed in thousands of blasts, floods and other mining accidents. While this year's record had been improving, the level is far worse than in other major coal-producing nations. The U.S. Department of Labor, for instance, had recorded 14 coal mine deaths as of August 10 this year. Chinese officials estimate that China now suffers 1.485 mine deaths for every million tonnes of coal produced, compared with about 0.04 U.S. deaths for every million tonnes that country produced in 2005."