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11 detained for mine accident cover-up

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-15 17:48

TAIYUAN: Police have detained 11 people for allegedly covering up a coal mine accident that left six people dead in Shanxi Province, the local government announced Saturday.

They included Yang Sanjun, owner of the Caowuhao Coal Mine in Hongtong County, and its mining and production directors, said a report issued by the county government.

Related readings:  Five killed in coal mine accident in NE China  48 coal mine inspectors to resign  Chinese coal mine covers up gas poisoning deaths  Shanxi coal mine deaths rise to 21

The county discipline inspection and supervision authorities were also investigating five work safety supervisors stationed at the colliery.

Six miners suffocated in the shaft of the mine on September 23, 2008, after explosives were mishandled and detonated, burning up oxygen, the government said in a report based on a 10-month police investigation.

Managers of the privately-owned mine secretly removed the bodies on the day of the accident, without reporting it to the authorities, the report said.

Public tip-offs prompted the police to investigate in October last year and helped them to find key clues earlier this month.

The bank accounts of the mine were frozen.

The mine has valid licences and reported an annual output of 210,000tonnes of coal.