State Council Team Probes Into Mine Flooding Accident

State Council Investigation Team at NandanĦĦĦĦ

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A State Council investigation team arrived in Nandan County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Thursday to probe into the cause of the July 17 mine water leakage accident, which has resulted in the missing of 81 people.

Zhang Baoming, head of the team, pledged that his team would ferret out the true cause of the accident as soon as possible, according to the instructions of the central authorities.

The team consists of senior officials in charge of safety production supervision, public security, supervision, economics and trade, trade unions and some other government departments.

The team first made an on-the-spot investigation by observing the Lajiapo Mine, where the tragedy happened.

Zhang Baoming urged the local departments concerned to quicken the speed of the rescue work and observe the rescue development round the clock.

He said the focus of the work is pumping water from the mines and asked experts and technicians to work out a more effective water drainage plan.

He also urged the proper handling of the problems arising from the accident, checking out the exact death toll and maintaining social security.

Zhang stressed that while probing into the accident, efforts will be made to uncover any acts of malpractice, neglect of duties or corruption by local officials.

He also called for a crackdown on organized criminal gangs in the region.