Four construction officials and a driver were arrested for actions that allegedly caused the deaths of 11 miners in north China's Shanxi Province, local authorities said on Monday.

Ten workers died of asphyxia and another died of brain damage on May 16 in Shuozhou City. They had gone underground at the Majialiang Coal Mine while concentrations of toxic gas were too high, according to the city's prosecutor.

Miners aren't supposed to enter a mine until 30 minutes after blasting, but Cao Zhenqiao, head of the construction team, ordered work to begin ahead of the scheduled time.

Prosecutors said work safety supervisor Wang Xisuo did not stop the miners. Winch driver Chen Yajie did not follow procedures, causing the miners to fall out from the cage. Project manager Qu Wu and deputy manager Zhang Jingyu were also responsible for the accident, the prosecutors said.

The Majialiang Coal Mine was built by the China Coal First Construction Corp.

Another six people were injured in the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2009)