Rescuers found remains of the last miner who went missing following a gas explosion in a coal mine inside Jincheng, a far-flung city of Shanxi Province, driving the deaths in the accident to 21.
The rescuers found the corpse at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, said sources from the headquarters in charge of the rescue operation.
The blast occurred at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Miaojiang Coal Mine, in Chengqu District of Jincheng City, about four hours' bus ride from Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, when 21 miners were working underground.
Rescue work was delayed 44 hours because the mine owner allegedly attempted to cover up the accident.
The provincial bureau of work safety started investigating the accident on Tuesday.
Eleven people, including pit owner Wang Junjun, the contractor, the district work safety inspector and the official in charge of monitoring gas density, have been arrested for allegedly attempting to cover up the accident. Police are searching for another three people in connection with the allegation, said the sources.
Ji Jianlong and Meng Shuangzhai, two Communist party officials in the village where the coal mine is located, have been dismissed in connection with the allegations of a cover-up. Li Xulong, a vice head of the district, who has already been expelled from the district Party committee, is also facing removal from office, said the city authorities.
Investigation over the cause of the gas explosion is under way.
在山西省偏远的城市晋城,当地的一座煤矿发生了瓦斯爆炸,救援人员找到了最后一名失踪矿工的遗体,这使得这次事故死亡人数达到了21人。据负责这次救援行动的指挥部说，救援人员在星期二晚上11时30分找到了这具尸体。爆炸发生在晋城市城曲区的妙江煤矿，事故发生在下午6点半，当时井下有21名工人正在作业。大约4小时后从省城太原开来了4辆公交车。由于矿主据称试图掩盖事故，致使救援工作拖延了44个小时。山西省安监局在星期二开始调查这次事故。救援指挥部说，包括矿井承包人王军军，区安监局检查员和负责监测瓦斯浓度的官员，据称试图掩盖矿难事故，已经被除数逮捕。警方正在搜寻据称与掩盖矿难有关的另外三个人。据晋城市官方说，在煤矿所在地村的两名党员干部，姬剑龙和孟双寨据称与掩盖矿难有牵联而被免职。副区长李许龙已被区党委开除出党籍，即将也被开除出公职。对瓦斯爆炸原因的调查正在进行当中。
