According to the municipal public security bureau of Tangshan, Hebei Province, seven people were detained on Sunday on charges of being responsible for a coalmine blast that killed 91 and left 17 others missing on December 7.

The seven include investors, a legal advisor, director, deputy director and workplace safety inspector of the coalmine.

The blast occurred at about 3:30 PM on December 7 at the Liuguantun Coalmine in Kaiping District, Tangshan.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2005)