Three people were arrested on bribery charges after an investigation into an explosion that killed 48 coal workers last April in Northeast China's Shaanxi Province, officials said.
Deng Zhengxing, Sun Gaiming and Li Zhenxiang, the operators of Xiayukou Coal Mine, were arrested in connection with the corruption, said Lu Jian, an official with the Hancheng Municipal Procuratorate.
The deadly gas explosion occurred in the mine's second pit. It killed 48 and injured 4 coal workers and caused 5.3 million yuan (US$633,700) in economic loss. Construction of the second pit started in 1996 but was stopped the following year due to a lack of money, officials said.
In 1998, the three mine operators disregarded State regulations and agreed to let Wu Dongming, a farmer with no certificate for coal mine building and production, undertake the project, the procurator said.
In return, Wu would pay 80,000 yuan (US$9,640) a year to the three mine operators, Lu said.
Wu then started to build the second pit, which yielded coal in 1999. But he did not pass a gas safety examination, officials said.
In November 2000, the Xiayukou Coal Mine's safety examination department closed the second pit and ordered Wu to fix several problems.
But Wu did not take any safety measures and got Deng's permission to continue production, Lu said.
Lu said that between 1999 and 2001, Wu earned 4.7 million yuan (US$566,000) from the second pit.
(China Daily January 31, 2002)
