POLICE authorities have detained 28 suspects involved in covering up the deaths of 43 miners and 40 safety accidents over nearly two decades in Dai-xian County, North China’s Shanxi Province, a joint investigation team of the province announced Sunday.

Shanxi Province has launched an investigation into the alleged underreport of mine accident casualties by a mining company named Jingcheng Mining, following a media report on the covering up that lasted for years.

Meanwhile, discipline inspection and supervision authorities have placed 16 government officials suspected of serious violations of discipline and law under investigation and detention.

The investigations were initiated after China Newsweek magazine published a report revealing that Jingcheng Mining had failed to report accidents that claimed the lives of more than 30 miners between 2007 and 2022.

The investigation team discovered that Jingcheng Mining had concealed information about fatal accidents and manipulated the families of the deceased miners in negotiations with them.

Company officials used coercion and intimidation to secure compensation agreements and signed “confidentiality agreements” to avoid accountability and punishment.(Xinhua, China Daily)