Reporters face charges for mine coverup

Ten journalists and nearly 50 officials are facing prosecution after a State Council probe found they allegedly took bribes to cover up a mine disaster in Hebei province.

Thirty-four miners and a rescuer died after the explosion at the Lijiawa mine in Yuxian county on July 14 last year, three weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics.

According to the allegations, mine bosses relocated bodies, destroyed evidence and paid the journalists 2.6 million yuan ($380,000) to cover up the disaster, Xinhua News Agency said.