CHINA / National

China arrests key suspect in mine flood
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-26 18:58

Police on Friday arrested a key suspect in an attempted cover-up of a coal mine flood believed to have killed 57 workers, the government said.

The suspect, Zhang Shengsheng, was in charge of mining and work safety at the time of the May 18 accident at the Xinjing mine in the northern province of Shanxi, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

It said Zhang fled after the accident, but was tracked down just across the provincial border in Inner Mongolia and arrested at 3:40 a.m. in the company of his mistress.

Zhang's by arrest was confirmed an official at headquarters in Shanxi province's Zuoyun county, where the mine is located. The official, refused to give other details.

Officers answering phones at Zuoyun police headquarters said no one was available to comment. Calls to police in Datong, the municipality that governs Zuoyun, and the provincial capital, Taiyuan, met with the same response.
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