Negligence blamed in mine blast

Poor ventilation and gas management, as well as the lack of on-site supervision and security measures, are to blame for Sunday's fatal gas blast that killed at least 74 people in Shanxi province, a preliminary state investigation showed.

"As a major state-owned colliery with relatively sound work safety foundations, this was an accident that never should have occurred for Tunlan mine of the Shanxi Jiaomei Group," Zhao Tiechui, head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety and deputy chief of the State Council's probe team, said at a news conference yesterday.

"The high death toll and severe losses have brought an extremely sharp lesson," he said.