County leaders fired for collapse of mine

Several leaders of Pingyi county, Shandong province, were dismissed in connection with a mine collapse that occurred in the county on Friday.

The county government announced the dismissals on Tuesday afternoon. Leaders including county Party chief Feng Chengxiu, county head Liu Chunbo and some deputy heads were dismissed.

A gypsum mine in the county collapsed on Friday morning with a force equivalent to a magnitude-4 earthquake. Twenty-nine workers were in the mine when the accident occurred. One was killed and 11 were rescued. The rest were still trapped in the mine as of Tuesday afternoon.

Ma Congbo, president of the company that owns the mine, committed suicide by jumping into water in the mine and drowning while assisting the rescue effort on Sunday, local authorities said.

Rescuers have continued trying to reach those still trapped.

Because water rose quickly in the mine, the rescuers also brought pumping equipment from other cities and provinces to quickly drain the water. Rescue experts said they were keeping an eye on the water level and were working on better drainage plans to ensure good conditions for the rescue effort.