A number of people, responsible for covering up a gas explosion that killed 12 at a Hebei Province coal mine, have been detained, said law enforcement officials.

The Public Security Bureau of Handan County, in the North China province, said Sunday the detainees include Ma Dengfeng and Ma Xuelin, both in charge of the Hongda Coal Mine. They are believed to shoulder major responsibility for the fatal gas blast, police said.

Zhang Yuliang, deputy head of the coal mine, and Yu Jiacheng, a foreman, are still at large.

Fifty-six miners in two teams were just changing shifts beneath one shaft at the coal mine when gas exploded and there was a fire around 8 am on June 3.

Eleven miners succumbed to suffocation on the spot and another miner died on the way to hospital. Most of the victims in the explosion were from Lichuan, Central China's Hubei Province.

However, those in charge of the coal mine reported that only one person had been killed and 23 others were injured.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2004)