JINAN - Four county officials were sacked for their responsibility for the collapse of a gypsum mine that left one miner dead and 17 others trapped last Friday in East Shandong province.

Party chief of Pingyi county, the county head and two deputy heads were sacked for "a series of work safety incidents" in the county, the county government said at a conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The gypsum mine accident happened at 8 pm, Friday when 29 people were working underground. One is confirmed dead, four managed to escape, and another seven have been rescued so far.

The owner of the mine drowned himself by jumping into water when working with the rescue team early Sunday morning.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.