The ax is falling on local officials in Henan, where two mining accidents this week have killed 57 people, AFP reports:
So far, 44 people have died and 35 are still trapped underground after a gas explosion at a coal mine on Tuesday in Pingdingshan city, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Rescue operations were ongoing, it said.
On Wednesday, 13 people, including miners and rescue personnel, were killed when a fire erupted at a gold mine in the city of Sanmenxia.
In Pingdingshan, three mine officials have been detained and two local officials sacked, Xinhua said. The city’s 157 mines have been shut down pending a safety review.
[…] Following the gold mine fire in Sanmenxia, which started when a partial cave-in short-circuited some electrical wires, four local officials were suspended, three mine managers sacked and one official detained, Xinhua reported.