18 officials punished over Guizhou coal mine accidents

A total of 18 local government officials in Liupanshui City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, have been punished over three coal mine accidents that left many casualties in recent five months, local authorities announced on Sunday.

Cai Jun, director of the city's work safety department, Wang Erbin, head of Shuicheng County, and Deng Zhihong, head of Panxian County were given administrative disciplinary sanctions, according to a statement issued by the Liupanshui Municipal government.

The deputy heads of Shuicheng County and Panxian County respectively, the directors of the two counties' work safety supervision bureaus and a township head from Shuicheng County were removed from their official posts, it said.

Another two township government officials from Panxian County were dismissed from their posts within the Communist Party of China, according to the statement.

Besides, eight other local officials who were directly responsible for the accidents have been detained by the police, it said.

The statement also revealed that the municipal government will suspend and rectify all the coal and methane outburst mines across the city and strengthen the monitoring of the coal mine safety.

Twenty-one miners were killed and four others were missing in a coal and gas outburst Tuesday evening at Machang Coal Mine in Shuicheng County, Liupanshui City.

Thirteen miners died in an explosion at Jinjia Coal Mine in Panxian County on Jan. 18. Other 23 miners were killed in a coal-gas burst at the Xiangshui Coal Mine in Panxian County on Nov. 24, 2012.