Mine bosses arrested for gas explosion killing 166 in NW China province

Two bosses of a coal mine involved in a gas explosion that killed 166 miners last year in northwest China's Shaanxi Province were arrested Friday, local police said.

The tragedy happened on Nov. 28, 2004 at the Chenjiashan Coal Mine under the Tongchuan Mining Administration in Tongchuan City of Shaanxi Province.

Altogether 293 miners were working underground when the deadly blast occurred.

Only 127 miners who were working near the entrance were rescued. Dozens of miners were injured in the blast.

The accident caused a direct economic loss of nearly 42 million yuan (5.2 million US dollars).

Liu Shuangming, former director of the Chenjiashan Coal Mine, and Wang Youjun, former deputy director and chief engineer of the mine, were blamed for the accident and arrested Friday in Tongchuan by the Tongchuan Municipal Public Security Bureau.

They had been removed from their posts on January 27 this year by the the Tongchuan Mining Administration.

The Chenjiashan Coal Mine is a state-owned company with 3,400 employees and a capacity of producing 2.6 million tons of coal a year.

Another gas explosion occurred at the coal mine on April 6, 2001, killing 38 miners and injuring seven others.

Source: Xinhua