Cadres, owners told to report accidents and launch rescue efforts promptly or face severe penalties
The State Council has vowed to severely punish officials and businessmen who cover up disasters in the wake of a coal mine blast in Shanxi last week that killed at least 20 people when rescue efforts were delayed.
The announcement by the State Council's Safe Production Commission led the Ruzhou municipal government in Henan province to report promptly a flood in a coal mine in Xiaotun township, in which 14 miners were killed, Xinhua reported yesterday.
It was unclear what caused the flooding, but local government officials quickly organised a rescue operation and launched an investigation.
The commission said Beijing would speed up moves to overhaul the coal mining industry after the tragedy in Shanxi.
It warned that the central authorities would crack down on people who failed to launch adequate and timely rescue efforts and covered up accidents.
Last Sunday, 21 workers were trapped after a gas blast in a coal mine in Jincheng, Shanxi. The owner not only tried to cover up the accident but also destroyed evidence at the scene. Because of this, the rescue operation was delayed for at least 44 hours. Some 20 bodies were eventually recovered and one miner was still missing. Police arrested 11 people, including the mine owner.
