A vice-mayor and a deputy police chief in northern China have been charged with taking bribes in relation to an industrial accident that killed 277 people, state press said Thursday.
Three other top officials in Linfen city, Shanxi province, have been charged with dereliction of duty and accepting bribes to turn a blind eye to illegal practices at the Xinta Mining Company, Xinhua news agency said.
The bribes helped cover up an illegal hillside waste pond run by the company which burst in September 2008, triggering a deadly landslide, the report said.
Investigators are charging Duan Bo, the former Linfen deputy police chief, with taking 20 million yuan (2.9 million dollars) in bribes from the boss of the mining company.
Duan was also charged with taking 4.55 million yuan in bribes from other people, it said, without elaborating.
Zhou Jie, former Linfen vice-mayor in charge of work safety, has been charged with dereliction of duty and taking 30,000 yuan in bribes from the mine, it said. He also received 2.7 million yuan in bribes from other people.
All five officials have been kicked out of the Communist Party, the report said, citing a statement issued by the ruling party's disciplinary committee.
Their cases have been handed over for criminal prosecution, it said, without saying when trials would be held.
China's work safety record is notoriously bad, with thousands of people dying every year in mines, factories and on construction sites, according to official tallies.
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