China has meted out punishment to 113 people held responsible for a fatal landslide in north China last year that killed at least 277 people, top work safety official said Friday.

Among the total, 51 were transferred to judicial organs for criminal charges and 62 received disciplinary penalties, said Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety.

The file photo shows rescue workers searched on September 15 the massive landslide site in Xiangfen County of the coal-rich Shanxi Province.

The collapse of an unlicensed iron ore dregs retaining pond triggered a massive landslide on September 8 in Xiangfen county of the coal-rich Shanxi Province. The torrent of mud and mining waste buried an outdoor market near a village of more than 1,000 residents.

On December 3, the government put the death toll to 277 and said another four are still missing. Investigations found the collapse was due to negligence. The tailings dumping pond was built in violation of regulation and had almost no safety inspections.

A total of 22 local officials had been arrested and would be prosecuted on charges of graft and dereliction of duty, the government said in October. The disaster caused Meng Xuenong, the governor of Shanxi, to resign.

China saw fewer accidents at work places in the first quarter, with the number of accidents, including traffic accidents, dropping 14.9 percent year on year and total death toll falling 7.6 percent, said the administration Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2009)