Shi Jichun, deputy governor of Henan Province, was given an administrative warning for his role in a coal mine blast, which claiming 148 lives last October, according a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday.

The meeting also announced what will happen to the 23 others responsible for the accident. Five of them were handed over to judicial authorities, waiting for legal rulings. Eighteen were given Party sanctions or administrative penalties.

The explosion at Daping Coal Mine in central China's Henan Province could have been prevented if the officials involved were performing their duty, according to local prosecutors.

Underground detectors had shown an abnormal gas concentration before the disaster. The concentration was reported to the mine officials, but none of them reacted in time.

The meeting also urged related departments to speed up the investigation of another coal mine explosion killing 166 miners in Tongchuan, a city in northern Shaanxi Province, last December.

The meeting pledged to severely punish those guilty for the worst mining disaster in China in years.

The work safety in coal mines is closely related to its workers' life security and direct interests. Local governments at various levels should take more efficient measures to ensure the mining safety under the guidance of the Party's "people first" principle, the meeting said.

It required the coal enterprises to set up a system nailing down their responsibilities for the coal mine security and to invest more in improving work conditions at mines.

Those at the meeting also suggested that Chinese mines should rely more on

science and technology to solve the security problem. They demanded related training for mine managers and workers.

The Chinese government, focusing on the public interests and administrative transparency, has taken persistent severe penalties against officials guilty of accidents during the past year.

Stern penalties were given to cadres involved in the stampede in Beijing's suburban Miyun County, the department store fire in northeast China's Jilin Province and the fake milk powder scandal that shocked the entire country.

Similar State Council executive meetings were also held after these accidents, usually ordering a thorough investigation into the causes, rigorous punishment for the guilty parties, strict implementation of security protection measures and deep introspection on the lessons.

Experts consider the government's growing seriousness when handling accidents a hint of its resolution to intensify cadres' sense of duty and to enhance administration according to law.

Source: Xinhua