43 civil servants punished for roles in coal mine accident that killed 13

Hunan authorities have handed out punishment to 43 civil servants involved in a coal mine accident in November that claimed 13 lives in Leiyang city, according to the provincial discipline watchdog.

Among them, 11 were suspected of serious law or discipline violations and were held by discipline inspection authorities, while the rest were given Party disciplinary or administrative penalties for negligence.

The 11 people include senior officials with Leiyang government, such as former vice-mayor Zeng Qunli, former director of the local emergency management bureau Luo Xigang, and former director of the local natural resources bureau Cao Zhouwen.

Officials from the provincial Department of Emergency Management and Coal Mine Safety Supervision Administration were given warnings and other penalties.

The coal mine accident on Nov 29 killed 13 people. After investigation, coal mine flooding was defined as a production safety incident that exposed the illegal exploitation of national resources by the coal mine enterprise, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The company illegally organized production, confronted government supervision, and its safety management was chaotic, the report said, citing earlier official investigation conclusions.

Sixteen people, including Jiang Liangjian, chairman of the company, had been criminally detained or arrested, according to the Xinhua report.