A coal mine boss has been sentenced to life imprisonment and fined one million yuan for a gas explosion accident in north China's Shanxi Province that killed 21 miners, a local court ruled on Friday morning.

Another 21 people responsible for the accident, including the contractor, the district work safety inspector, and the official in charge of monitoring gas density, received jail sentences ranging from 18 months to 20 years, according to the ruling of the Jincheng City Intermediate People's Court.

The blast occurred at 6:30 p.m. on March 18 at Miaojiang Coal Mine, in Chengqu District of Jincheng City, when 21 miners were working underground.

The pit owner Wang Jianjun failed to report to the local work safety administration and tried to conceal the accident.

Wang dispatched other miners and transferred the victims' family members to neighboring Henan Province and tried to offer them hush money.

When inspectors came to investigate the accident, Wang denied what had happened, cut off the cable wires, and then buried the wires and ventilators, which delayed rescue work for 44 hours.

The coal mine had been ordered to stop operation in January 2006 but Wang resumed mining in unapproved coal beds in February this year despite an expired license and no safety permit.

His illegal mining destroyed the country's coal resources, causing 8.7 million yuan in losses, said the court.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2007)