Police nab escaped suspect after illegal mining causes casualties in north China

Police have caught a suspect who escaped after being involved in illegal coal mining that caused casualties in Xiaoyi City, north China's Shanxi Province.

Two people are confirmed dead and 20 others rescued after the mine was flooded during illegal mining at around 11 pm Wednesday.

Rescuers on Friday morning established contact with the trapped miners. The first trapped miner was lifted out of the shaft at around 2:15 pm Friday. By 5:56 pm Friday, a total of 20 miners had been evacuated from the shaft safely.

All the rescued miners have been rushed to hospitals for treatment and are in stable condition.

The fled suspect surnamed Du was caught after police on Friday issued a reward notice in the hunt for him. Before Du's detention, the local public security department had detained seven other suspects involved in the illegal mining.

The case is still under police investigation.

The Work Safety Committee of China's State Council has demanded Shanxi Province promptly conduct the investigation, collect evidence, search for the escaped suspects, and hold those accountable under the law and regulations. It also required the province to launch special campaigns to identify and stringently clamp down on illegal mining.