Beijing : China’s top procuratorate is investigating 31 officials for cover-ups in three coal mine accidents that killed 39 people, authorities said Thursday.
According to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP), the officials, including coal industry administrators, work safety watchdog staff and town government officials, allegedly committed crimes including abuse of power, dereliction of duty and accepting bribes, Xinhua reported.
A fire in a mine owned by the Rongningfeng Company of Lushan county in Henan province killed 24 people and caused direct economic losses of more than 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) Dec 22, 2009.
The accident was concealed for four years.
In the same province, seven people were killed and nine were injured in a coal mine flooding in Gongyi city Dec 22, 2013.
Direct economic losses were 15 million yuan.
The town authorities, Dayugou Coal Mine Co., Ltd. and the owner of the coal mine were accused of withholding information.
Eight people were killed July 5 this year when a colliery roof collapsed in Heilongjiang province.
Work safety watchdog officials failed to find or check the coal mine’s illegal operations until the accident occurred, according to investigators.
All the officials under investigation have been placed under “compulsory measures”, which, according to China’s Criminal Procedure Law, include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest, the SPP said.