7 responsible for fatal colliery blast under investigation

Seven officials responsible for two coal mine gas explosions in northeast China's Jilin Province have been placed under investigation, with some also being detained by police, on Tuesday.

Han Chenglu, manager of the Babao Coal Mine, and Wang Xinjiang, the deputy manager in charge of mine security, have been transferred to the local public security department for investigation and placed in police custody.

Zhao Xianwen, director of Tonghua Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. (Tonghua), Wang Li, deputy director of Tonghua, and Xu Xiaodong, deputy director of Jilin Province Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd., have been suspended from their posts, pending an investigation.

Yuan Yuqing, director of Jilin Province Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. is also under investigation, according to the local government.

Wang Shengyu, deputy manager of Tonghua, was detained by local police on Tuesday morning.

An explosion occurred around 10 a.m. on Monday at Tonghua's Babao Coal Mine in Baishan City. Jilin Province Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. is the parent company of Tonghua.

So far, the explosion has left six people dead and four others injured. Another 11 miners remain missing.

A preliminary investigation indicated that a mine operator saw smoke coming out of the mine at 8 a.m. Monday and reported it to a principal, who arranged for 21 miners to go into the mine to carry out rescue operations without first obtaining instructions or permission.

The explosion came after a similar blast hit the same mine around 10:40 p.m. on Friday, killing 28 people and injuring 13 others.

The provincial government has demanded that no efforts are spared in rescuing the missing miners.