Ten people alleged to be responsible for a gas blast accident
that killed 15 miners have been arrested, police in central China's
Hunan Province announced Wednesday.
Mo Zhixiang, the boss of Hongfa coal mine in Niumasi Town,
Shaodong County of Hunan Province, who had been on the run for ten
days, was caught on March 13 in southwest China's Yunnan Province when he tried to flee to
bordering Myanmar. The other six owners have also been arrested in
southern Guangzhou and Guangxi as well as two people suspected of
covering up the accident.
Mo and all the other mine managers fled the site after being
informed of the gas blast at around 11:00 AM on March 6. The
accident was not reported to the local work safety watchdog until
2:00 PM.
When the accident occurred gas had built up to dangerous levels
because of poor ventilation. The immediate cause of the explosion
was electric sparks triggered by an electrician who was checking
equipment, said sources with the work safety bureau.
With an expired license and no safety permit, Hongfa coal mine
had been ordered to stop production last August but resumed
operation without permission in late February and mined unapproved
coal beds.
The county government is determined to close it down this year,
said a work safety bureau spokesman.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2007)