Prosecutors in Shanxi Province have charged 10 more officials for covering up a mine accident that killed 277 people, the worst in China last year.

Xiangfen County Party Secretary Kang Hailong and Li Xuejun, the county's chief, were among those charged with covering up the reasons for the accident and the number of casualties, the Procuratorial Daily reported yesterday.

Kang, Li and Sang Haiming, deputy director of the Shanxi Land and Resource Department's law enforcement bureau, were also facing charges of receiving bribes, the newspaper said.

Last month, 12 officials were sentenced for up to five years in jail for their roles.

The collapse of an unlicensed iron ore dreg-retaining pond triggered a massive landslide on September 8 in Xiangfen County. The torrent of mud and mining waste buried an outdoor market. County officials claimed a mudslide had caused the accident.

(Shanghai Daily July 15, 2009)