BEIJING, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Seven executives of an illegally operating coal mine in central China were suspended after 26 miners were killed in a gas explosion, officials said.
The Dec. 7 blast came as 46 miners were working underground at the Juyuan Coal Mine, owned by Juyuan Coal Industry Co., Ltd., China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Managers of the mine did not obtain a license to excavate coal from the site, officials said, and also ignored an order to halt production as the mine's operations were being reorganized as part of Juyuan's merger into the state-owned Yi Ma Coal Industry group.
Deputy general manager Li Jianxin of Yi Ma group, in charge of the merger, was suspended from duty pending an investigation.
Manager Yao Nianshou and four deputy managers sent by the Yi Ma group to Juyuan Coal Industry Co. Ltd. were also removed, he said.
Police said they arrested the owner of the mine, Suo Yonggang, who allegedly hid the bodies of the victims to lessen the casualty count, Xinhua reported.
