70 confirmed dead in Chinese mine disaster
China's leading newspaper, the State-run People's Daily, has claimed that efforts were made to cover up an accident at a tin mine in the south of the country which officially left more than 70 miners dead.
The men died when the mine in Guangxi province flooded on July 17th.
As recently as last Friday, safety officials were saying that investigators had found no evidence of any casualties and said media reports of up to 400 deaths were false.
The head of the Communist Party in Guangxi said officials who knew about the accident, but failed to report it, must be punished.
Media organisations in Guangxi heard of the accident 10 days after it happened, but reporters who went to the area to investigate were tailed and blocked, according to the People's Daily.
"The people responsible tried to hide the truth," the newspaper said.
Thousands of people lose their lives in accidents in Chinese mines each year.
Most mines are poorly-run and have disgraceful safety records, but they are often only shut down after an accident claims human life.
