Officials jailed after colliery fatalities in central China
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Authorities in central China's Henan Province gave prison terms to 61 officials involved in the three most deadly colliery accidents in the past two years, according to the local authorities on Monday.
The statement was released by the provincial discipline inspection commission.
Henan Province announced that it would launch a six-month campaign in May to target corruption in its bustling mining industry.
Three coal mine blasts in the province killed 169 miners, according to official statistics.
Following the disasters, the province meted out jail sentences to 61 officials who were found guilty of multiple charges including accepting bribes, abandoning duty, and abusing power, the statement said.
Another seven officials received administrative or disciplinary reprimands for engaging in illegal investments in the coal mine, it said.
In one of the disasters, 76 miners were killed in the No. 4 Mine near the city of Pingdingshan on September 8, 2009.
The investigation revealed that eight officials had received 1.36 million yuan (US$208,000) in bribes from the mine's owner Li Xinjun, who was given a suspended death penalty in 2010.
Power abuses have also been found in other mine blasts in Henan Province.
For example, bribery played a role in a mine blast that claimed 44 lives in Yichuan county on March 31, 2010.
Another explosion in Pingdingshan killed 49 miners on June 21, 2010, after some officials ignored the order to cut the power supply to an illegal coal mine.
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