Eleven people have gone on trial in northeast China in connection with a coal mine blast that claimed 171 lives two years ago.

The explosion occurred on Nov. 27, 2005, at the Dongfeng Coal Mine, run by the Qitaihe branch of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province

The accident left 171 people dead, 48 injured and caused almost 43 million yuan (5.7 U.S. dollars) in losses.

Information from the Xinxing District People's Court, in Qitaihe city, gave the name of only one defendant, coal mine owner Ma Jinguang.

According to media reports, all the defendants were detained by police on Dec. 13, 2005, but they were released on bail on Aug. 28, 2006. In late November this year, they were arrested again.

The court gave no information on the other 10 defendants or the charges against them, nor did it explain why the trial was delayed for almost two years.

No indication was given about the proposed duration of the trial.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2007)