Three get life terms for coal mine blast

Seventeen people were given prison terms, including three life sentences, for their roles in a coal mine explosion that killed 105 in Shanxi province in December of last year, AP reported, citing state media. The mine’s production manager, investor and legal representative were all sentenced to life in prison from a courtroom in Linfen, Shanxi. The explosion, the second-deadliest in 2007, was caused by an accumulation of gas in an unventilated tunnel, where more than 128 miners – more than double the authorized limit of 60 – were working. Previously, the company had been fined US$26 million for illegal trade of explosives, illegal mining work and tax evasion.