Provincial governor apologizes for mining deaths

The governor of Shanxi province apologized for deaths caused by China’s worst mining accident in a year, AP reported. "We say sorry to the victims and their families," governor Wang Jun told the state-run Xinhua news agency. Underground explosions on Sunday led to the deaths of 74 coal miners in the Tunlan coal mine. While the cause of the accident has not been announced, provincial government officials have formally acknowledged their errors to the central government. Shanxi province will launch a year long safety campaign in its mines starting on March 1, though it was unclear whether the campaign had been planned before the mining accident. China recorded about 3,200 mining deaths last year, representing a drop of about 15% from the previous year.