40 Chinese officials punished for covering up tunnel blast

Beijing: A total of 40 Chinese officials have received judicial or disciplinary punishment for their role in covering up a fatal tunnel explosion that left killed eight people dead in a north Chinese province in December.

The tunnel explosion, occurred in Shanxi Province, was revealed to the public after 5 days of its occurrence only when a whistleblower wrote an online post uncovering the news.

Six people were involved in covering up the accident, said Liu Dezheng, a spokesman for the provincial work safety commission.
Among those who have received punishment included 14 people employed by Erchu Co Ltd under the China Railway Tunnel Group, which contracted the tunnel project, Liu said.

PTI