Graft in China Covers Up Toll Of Coal Mines.

When an underground fire killed 35 men at the bottom of a coal shaft last year, the telltale signs of another Chinese mining disaster were everywhere: Black smoke billowed into the sky, dozens of rescuers searched nine hours for survivors, and sobbing relatives besieged the mine's iron gate. But though the owner and local government officials took few steps to prevent the tragedy, they succeeded, almost completely, in concealing it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]