China's top procuratorate probes fatal mine blasts

BEIJING - The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) is investigating possible dereliction of duty in relation to two recent coal mine explosions that killed 53 people in Northeast China's Jilin province, authorities said Friday.

The explosions occurred on March 29 and April 1, respectively, at the Babao Coal Mine in the city of Baishan.

The mine belongs to the state-owned Tonghua Mining Group.

Procurators from the provincial, city and district levels have formed a special task force to investigate possible abuses of power or dereliction of duty that may have resulted in a neglect of work safety and the concealment of the blasts' death tolls, authorities said.

Four principals from the Tonghua Mining Group and Babao Coal Mine have been taken into custody, according to the SPP.

The Babao Coal Mine employs more than 3,500 workers.

The causes of the blasts are being investigated.

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