Xinhua News Agency reported today that a mine owner and local government officials in Shaanxi Province in northwest China bribed reporters and relatives of victims to conceal news of a fatal coal mine accident last week.

A gas accident at Qinfenggou West Coal Mine in Huangling County early on Thursday morning killed 12 miners and injured another two, the bureau learned from a report by an insider on Saturday.

Gao Qinshe, deputy director of the Shaanxi Provincial Supervision Bureau for Coal Mine Safety Production, said on Sunday that the provincial government had sent an investigation team to the colliery the day before to uncover the true situation.

The details of many reports were unclear, but He Mingshan, owner of the private mine, and Huangling County Coal Industry Bureau had allegedly tried to bribe local reporters who went to cover the event.

"They tried to put some cartons of cigarettes and bottles of wine into my car," said Chen Youmo, a reporter from a local news organization.

The mine owner is also accused of handing relatives of two of the dead 200,000 yuan (US$24,660) each as compensation and to keep quiet about the accident.

"The mine owner urged me and other relatives of dead miners to go back home as soon as possible after receiving the money and told us not to tell the truth to anyone," said Liu Qinxiang, wife of Yuan Chaoyin who was killed in the accident.

Investigators have detained He and others involved and said that he has confessed.

"From the preliminary investigation, we determined the death toll and found that at least two miners were injured in the accident," said Fan Xiyang, bureau official and head of the investigation group.

"Stern measures will be adopted to further ensure safe coal production, and those responsible for the cover-up and the accident will be punished in accordance with the law," said Gao.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2005)