Eleven people held responsible for the coal mine
flooding that trapped at least 123 people in Guangdong
have been apprehended by local police, according to rescue
headquarters on Wednesday.
They include the owner, manager, board chairman and
chief technician of the mine where the accident took place on
Sunday. All of them had gone missing afterward, hindering rescuers'
attempts to find out exactly how many miners had been working
underground at the time.
The first body from the accident was recovered
yesterday morning, and police are trying to identify the victim
through DNA testing.?
The same day, Shi Quan, on duty at the mineshaft,
and Zeng Xianji, from Xingning City Coal Industry Bureau, were also
given disciplinary warnings for not reporting water levels
accurately or in time.
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Rescue headquarters said anyone else who neglected
their duties would be removed from post immediately.
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Two mayors have been suspended, the provincial
government announced yesterday. He Zhengba, mayor of Meizhou, and
Zeng Xianghai, mayor of Xingning, were accused of incompetence in
supervising coal mine production in their area.
The accident occurred at 1:30 PM on Sunday in the
privately-owned and unlicensed Daxing Coal Mine in Huanghuai Town,
Xingning City in Meizhou Prefecture of south China's
Guangdong Province.
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2005)