Chinese mayor fired over mine explosion

China's government has fired a mayor over a coal mine explosion that killed 105 people in his city, official media reported Thursday.

Li Tiantai, mayor of the northern city of Linfen in Shanxi province, was expelled from the Communist Party and removed from his mayoral post for failing to supervise safety at the mine, Xinhua News Agency said.

Mining accidents in China claim thousands of lives each year. The Dec. 5 accident was this year's second deadliest, after an eastern China mine flood that drowned 172 in August.

In the Linfen incident, the mine's managers delayed reporting the explosion to authorities for five hours while they tried to rescue the miners themselves.

Xinhua reported that when the blast occurred, more than 128 miners had been working in the mine despite the legal limit of 60 — a routine practice stemming from huge demand and high coal prices that bring big profits in energy-hungry China.

China's coal mining industry is the world's deadliest, with 4,750 miners killed last year in fires, explosions and floods.

Police have detained the Linfen mine's owner and 35 other people connected with it. No one has yet been charged with any crime, however.