China arrests key suspect in mine flood
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-26 18:58
Zhang is the tenth mine official to be detained, including owner Li Fuyuan,
who earlier had been identified as the chief manager. Three local officials were
suspended and placed under investigation, and police are still searching for one
final suspect, mine labor contractor Wang Laowu, Xinhua said.
"Zhang Shengsheng and Wang Laowu went into hiding after their attempt to
cover up failed," the report said.
China's top industrial safety official, Li Yizhong, has demanded a
wide-ranging investigation into the flood and attempted cover-up.
Safety officials said managers ignored complaints from miners before the
flood that water was seeping into the shaft. Miners working a seam outside the
mine's safe drilling area smashed into an abandoned shaft filled with water,
causing the flood.
One foreman who urged mining be suspended due to the seepage was slapped in
the face by a manager, Xinhua said. It said the man had refused to work and was
above ground when the accident occurred.
Mine managers first reported only five miners had died in the accident and
drove relatives of the missing to Innner Mongolia in an attempt to keep them
quiet.
Work to pump water from the mine has been proceeding
slowly and relatives say they have given up hope of finding any survivors.
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