Rescue inside tunnel Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by The Beijing News

A total of 27 senior officials, including two vice mayors of Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday were punished for failing to fulfill their duties after 14 miners were killed in a waterlogged tunnel accident in July, according to the Department of Emergency Management in the province.

After investigation, the direct reason for the accident is that improper construction caused the tunnel to collapse and water flooded into the tunnel, leading to the workers inside drowning, according to the investigation report. 

Since the incident occurred at 3:30 am on July 15, 14 workers have been trapped in the tunnel, which was 1,160 meters away from its opening, for over 80 hours. Sadly, all 14 workers were confirmed dead.

The investigation report pointed out the problems of relevant enterprises and authorities in Zhuhai. The No.3 engineering company of China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group lacked effective risk control measures, and did not follow the design and safety rules to conduct construction.

The involved blasting company also didn't have a safety production license and violated rules to conduct blasting operation. The Zhuhai engineering investigation institute's report didn't accurately reflect the geological conditions, and did not conform to the sampling standards for hole exploration and drilling. 

The Public Security Bureau has taken legal action against 12 suspects and handed them over to the judiciary for criminal prosecution.

Also, nine companies including China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group and 16 relevant people will receive administrative punishment, with some firms added to a blacklist of safety production industry.