China's State Council ordered a crackdown on the dishonest
reporting of coal mine accidents in a notice circulated on
Thursday.
"Dishonest reporting of mine accidents not only violates laws
and regulations, but also loses time in rescue operations, which
could cause greater losses," said the notice.
"Some (mine owners) purposely cover up the truth by damaging the
accident sites," it said.
Since the start of February, dishonest reporting has occurred in
four coal mine accidents, in central China's Henan and Shanxi provinces and in northeast China's Liaoning Province, in which 66 people died in
total.
The State Council called for harsher punishments for those who
make false reports or flee and hide after an accident.
It also called for closer investigation of all work accidents
and harsher punishments for those responsible.
The State Council encouraged a wider range of supervision from
the public and media and better protection for informants.
Fifty-one people died and 32 are missing after accidents in
China's coal mines from March 19 to 25, a rise of 39 dead or
missing from the same period last year.
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The latest coal mine blast occurred in Shanxi Province on
Wednesday, killing at least 26 people.
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2007)