4 officials suspended over Sichuan mine blast

CHENGDU - Authorities in Southwest China's Sichuan province announced on Monday that four officials have been suspended from their posts in the wake of a gas explosion late last month at a coal mine killing 45 people.

The four had important posts in the work safety administrative authorities, a subdistrict office and the land resources bureau in the Xiqu District of Panzhihua city, home to the mine, said an official with the city's Communist Party committee.

The Xiaojiawan Coal Mine was struck by a gas blast on Aug 29, trapping about a third of the 154 miners who were working underground and injuring 54 others, 17 of them seriously.

In addition to the 45 people who have died so far as a result of the blast, one worker still remains unaccounted for.

Police have detained 14 people who were found responsible for the tragedy and allowed bail for another one as investigation indicated that chaotic management and sheer ignorance of safety measures in the mine, owned by Zhengjin Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., were mainly to blame.