CHINA’s top coal-producing province has stepped up punishments to local officials in a bid to increase safety standards.
Five officials were penalised after a routine inspection found ‘wide-scale’ illegal mining in China’s Shanxi province in mid-October.
This was shortly followed by a coal mine blast that killed 16 and injured more than 50 when a blasting firm failed to note live explosives it had previously left at a mine site before it began hilltop blasting.
According to industry insiders, it is hoped harsher penalties will limit fatalities in a country that has the worst safety record in the world.
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