Five people responsible for last week's coalmine gas blast, which killed 19 people in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, have been put under custody, according to local sources.

The five people, shareholder of the coal mine Feng Tianyong, director of the mine Yin Kunping, legal person of the mine Xiong Xingjia, work safety technical professionals Peng Guohuan and Gu Yuecheng, ran away and hid after the accident.

The blast occurred around 3:00 p.m. last Thursday at the Sulongsi coal mine, Xinzhen Town in Fengjie County of the province. After the tragedy, the owners and the technicians didn't organize rescue, but fled, leading to the death of all the 19 trapped miners.

The local police then set up a 15-member team to hunt down the runaways.

Source: Xinhua