Police in southwest China are hunting for four owners of an illegal coal mine where an accident left 14 miners dead, state media reported Sunday.
Authorities had sealed up the illegal mine in Weining County in southern Guizhou province on Wednesday, but the owners broke into the mine and ordered their workers into the pit, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The mine collapsed, leaving the miners trapped as poisonous gas built up around them, killing 10 workers immediately. Four others died after they were reached by rescuers, the report said.
Police are offering a 10,000-yuan (1,470-dollar) reward for information leading to the owners' capture or 20,000 yuan to anyone who brings them in, the report said.
China's mines are notoriously dangerous.
On Friday, 13 other miners were killed in an accident in Liaoning province that is still being investigated, Xinhua reported.
Meanwhile, a lift malfunction killed 26 miners in a tin mine in central Hunan province on Thursday, state media reported.
Official figures show more than 3,200 workers died in collieries last year, but independent labour groups say the actual figure could be much higher, as many accidents are covered up in order to avoid costly mine shutdowns.
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