(ECNS) - Authorities are investigating a fatal hoist accident at a gold mine in eastern China's Shandong Province that killed seven people, as well as allegations that the company failed to report the incident promptly, according to media reports.
The accident occurred at around 8:50 a.m. on Feb. 7 at the Canzhuang Gold Mine in Zhaoyuan, Shandong. Local emergency management authorities said a vertical shaft transport container fell during underground operations.
However, the mine did not immediately report the accident. Officials said they only learned of it on Feb. 9 after receiving a tip-off, and then confirmed the situation on site, according to an official from Zhaoyuan's emergency management department.
Emergency management authorities and police have launched parallel investigations into the cause of the accident and the alleged delayed reporting by the company, officials said.
Eleven company executives and managers, including the mine's head, chief engineer, and several safety and production supervisors, have been taken into custody as part of the investigation, the official said.
Local authorities said the workers were being transported deep underground when a steel cable snapped, causing the container to plunge about 240 meters to the bottom of the shaft. Officials described the simultaneous failure of two safety cables as highly unusual.
Aftermath handling for the victims' families is still ongoing, officials said.
(By Zhang Jiahao)
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