Investigators from the Chinese State Council have ended their wide-scale investigation into a flood in a tin mine in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last July that killed 81 miners.

However, criminal investigations into possible involvement of criminal gangs and economic crimes related to the case will continue, as learned Wednesday from the investigation team.

At the conclusion of the investigation, Wang Hanmin, vice-chairman of the Guangxi regional government, received a demerit from the State Council.

Police have arrested top officials Wan Ruizhong, Tang Yusheng, Mo Zhuanglong, Luo Shaozhang and Wei Xueguang in Nandan County, where the accident occurred, of attempted cover up, abuse of power and taking bribes.

Hechi Prefecture top officials Mo Zhenhan, Yan Zhihua and ZhangGuohui are still being investigated by the disciplinary department of the party together with the government's supervision authority for trying to cover up the accident and taking bribes.

Rampant mismanagement leads to serious accidents

The investigation team of the State Council, headed by Zhang Baoming, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, Luo Feng, vice-minister of Public Security and Chen Changzhi, vice-minister of Supervision, started their probe on August 8 last year.

The investigation confirmed that the July 17 accident at the Lajiapo tin mine was caused by two illegal explosion operations which destroyed the rock partitions and allowed water to flood neighboring mind shafts.

The site of the accident, Longquan Mining Plant, and other mines in the area were all marked by rampant mismanagement, waste of resources, and caused severe environmental pollution, the investigation revealed.

In fact, accidents were frequent at these mines -- some of them very serious -- but most of these incidents have been covered up local officials.

Longquan was registered as a collectively-owned business, but was actually a private venture owned by Li Dongming, who bought the mining rights from a fly-by-night firm opened by authority of Nandan County.

The investigation disclosed the widespread corruption among major officials of Nandan County and their connected interests with illegal miners. Some of the mine owners had been harboring armed criminal gangs to protect their interests, it was learned.

( January 10, 2001)