Local Officials Detained Over Cover-Up of Mine Explosion That Killed 10

Top officials in an eastern Chinese city are in criminal detention for covering up a mining accident in January that killed at least 10 people, a new government report shows.

Police are holding the former Communist Party secretary and former mayor of Qixia, in Shandong province, while they investigate why they did not initially report the incident and later concealed certain details from higher authorities, according to the results of an inquiry published Tuesday by the provincial emergency response bureau.

In total, some 45 people, including government and business officials, bear responsibility for the explosion that trapped 22 miners underground and sparked a two-week rescue effort, the report says.

The inquiry found that the blast was caused by the illegal storage of civil explosives and illegal hot work near the entrance to the mineshaft.

Official foot-dragging

At a Jan. 12 press conference, officials in charge of the rescue said the companies operating on the site at the time of the explosion had rapidly organized an effort to save the trapped miners.

In fact, both the businesses and local government officials stalled for more than a day until they were forced by superiors to confirm the incident.

According to the report (link in Chinese), the blast occurred at 1:13 p.m. on Jan. 10 at the Qixia Hushan Gold Mine owned by Shandong Wucailong Investment Co. Ltd.

Senior personnel at Wucailong and several partner companies converged on the site within minutes, but did not inform the city government. At around 7 p.m., a local villager who had heard about the explosion reported it to the government of Qixia.

Soon afterward, Qixia’s then-Communist Party secretary Yao Xiuxia and then-mayor Zhu Tao visited the site. But they decided not to report the incident to their superiors, believing there was “quite a high chance” the miners would soon be rescued, the report says.

Chinese regulations require “responsible parties” at work units to report safety incidents to inspectors at the county level or above within one hour of the incident taking place, or face possible fines or criminal charges.

Finally, at 6:46 p.m. the following day, emergency response officials in Yantai, the city that administers Qixia, learned of the blast via “other channels,” the report says. They contacted Qixia for verification, and Yao and Zhu confirmed the incident just over an hour later.

In total, nearly 31 hours elapsed between the explosion and confirmation by Yantai officials. Just before midnight on Jan. 11, the Yantai information office issued a notice on the incident, but included few details on the explosion or the trapped miners.

Recriminations began over the ensuing days. On Jan. 15, the provincial Communist Party committee announced it had removed Yao and Zhu from their posts for reporting the incident late.

On Feb. 1, public security officials placed Yao and Zhu under “residential surveillance,” a term often used by Chinese authorities to indicate house arrest, according to the report. They were brought into criminal detention four days later.

After “exhaustive” efforts, 11 of the trapped miners were rescued alive and 10 were found dead, the report says. One miner with whom rescuers were not able to establish contact has now been formally classified as missing.

Dereliction of duty

Lax safety controls by the companies involved in the incident and a pattern of negligence from government regulators were direct factors in the explosion, the inquiry found.

During a gas cutting operation at the surface, high-temperature slag fell into a shaft and collided with wellbore equipment. The incident ignited the packaging of explosives that had been illegally stored underground alongside detonators.

Wucailong, which owns the mine, was “weak” at explosives inspection and “extremely chaotic” in managing its building contractors, the report says, adding that the company also ignored relevant safety protocols.

Other enterprises are also at fault for “dereliction of duty,” according to the report. They include Zhejiang Qifeng Mine Engineering Co. Ltd., a construction company; Beijing Kangdi Construction Engineering Consultants Co. Ltd., an inspection firm; and three local businesses involved in the sale, purchase, transportation, storage and use of civil explosives.

Local government and business authorities also failed to exercise stringent checks on the companies involved in the explosives sector, meaning that some of them operated without proper licenses, the inquiry found.

In total, some 15 company personnel, including Wucailong’s legal representative, are under criminal investigation, the report adds.

Not the first time

The Qixia explosion is one of two deadly mining incidents to have occurred in Yantai so far this year, raising concerns about the safety of one of China’s most dangerous industries.

Last week, six people died in a fire at the Caojiawa Gold Mine, which lies around 50 kilometers from the Qixia shaft.

Since last year, a series of fatal incidents has focused public attention on China’s mining sector. Officials have linked a rise in safety violations to high mineral prices and a production rush following a suspension in operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

China recorded 316 deaths due to coal mining accidents in 2019, down from a record 6,995 in 2002. Overall figures for the mining industry are not publicly available.

Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com)

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