(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-16 17:45

TAIYUAN -- Prosecutors in north China have issued arrest warrants for 13 people wanted in connection with a coal mine gas blast that killed 105 miners and injured 18 others last week.

The explosion occurred at 11:15 p.m. on December 5 at Xinyao Coal Mine, Hongtong County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province, when 128 miners were working in the shaft, far more than the maximum of 60 miners for one shift as approved by Shanxi coal mine authority.

An investigation of the provincial work safety authorities found that Fan Baoying and Liu Ting, the safety inspectors at the mine, managed by Ruizhiyuan Coal Mining Co. Ltd, left their posts without permission, delaying reporting of the accident and the rescue operation.

Another inspector, Ma Haiqiang, was named on a warrant for allegedly failing to identify safety risks in the pit.

Song Yuepeng, an official of the coal mine safety supervision bureau in Hongdong County, allegedly ignored the fact that the Xinyao Coal Mine was operated in an unapproved area. He was also accused of lax management.

Hao Heping, an inspector of the Linfen coal mine supervision bureau, was also on the warrant for an alleged failure to take any measures after he discovered the safety hazards in the mine.

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