Nine people have been arrested in relation to a fire at a limestone mine in Gansu Province last month that killed 12 people, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The nine suspects include the deputy head of the mine and four members of the construction team, who were working in the mine when the fire broke out, according to the People's Procuratorate of Sunan County in the city of Zhangye.

The procuratorate said the people in charge of the mine had failed to implement safety measures and had outsourced construction work to a team whose negligence had caused the fire.

Those responsible did not report the fire immediately and failed to take efficient response to the accident.

The nine people are arrested on suspicion of major liability in an accident, the procuratorate said.

The fire occurred at the limestone mine operated by Jiuquan Iron and Steel Group in Zhangye City, northwest China's Gansu Province, around 2 p.m. on Aug. 16, trapping nine miners. Despite firefighters and a rescue team rushing to the scene, the trapped miners and three rescuers died.

The head of the mine, surnamed Liu, was detained in late August.

Source : XINHUA