Punishments given for deadly mine explosions
Five companies involved in construction work that led to explosions on Jan 10 at a gold mine in Qixia, Shandong province, were given fines totaling 21.6 million yuan ($3.3 million), according to the National Mine Safety Administration.
The companies have also been blacklisted for poor safety records.
The accident killed 10 miners. One remains missing. Eleven others were rescued after being trapped underground for two weeks.
The incident led to direct economic losses of more than 68.47 million yuan.
The investigative panel held that the explosions were the result of illegal storage and use of explosives in underground tunnels, as well as the illegal use of fire at the mine.
Forty-five people were held to account for the explosions, including top officials of Qixia and Yantai, the city that administers Qixia.
