ON TUESDAY, A GAS EXPLOSION in a coal mine in Lianyuan county in Hunan province, Central China, killed nine people according to the local authorities. However, there were actually 10 victims and the Lianyuan officials sought to hide the fact. Xinhuanet comments:

Why did the Lianyuan officials try to hide the death of one victim? The answer lies in the classification of accidents. According to a regulation of the State Council, China's Cabinet, an accident that involves less than 10 deaths is called a "serious" accident and one that involves 10 to 30 deaths is called a "major" accident. The latter will be investigated by the higher authorities and the officials responsible face greater penalties.

That's why the officials in the county tried to report fewer casualties in the accident, as they hoped to escape serious punishment. Such an act violates the law about government transparency, and is a kind of corruption because the officials are using their power in hand to protect their interests.

When accidents happen, accurate information is important for the rescue efforts because the rescuers need it to decide what to do and how to save any people that may be alive but trapped. If such key information as the numbers of people involved and the deaths is concealed, the rescuers might make the wrong decisions, which in turn might lead to more casualties.

The practice of officials deliberately announcing a false death toll in an accident has been disappearing with the improvement of rule of law. However, there are still some, such as the officials in Lianyuan county, who dare to try and hide the true number of deaths in an accident.

A higher level of government, namely Loudi city, uncovered the lie of the county officials and it should be praised for defending the law.

Those officials in Lianyuan who were responsible for trying to cover up the true number of victims in the coal mine explosion should now be held accountable for their action.