Colliery managers and local officials originally said that seven miners had been killed and four others injured in the fire which broke out on February 2 in Xing'an Colliery in Tianchi town of Mianchi county, China Daily reported.
“The number of deaths is 24, not seven, as announced previously by the local authorities. The deaths of 17 miners were deliberately concealed," director of the Coal Mine Safety Bureau of Henan Province Li Jiucheng told Xinhua on Saturday.
According to the bureau, five people, including the owner and manager of the mine have now been taken into custody.
The fire is believed to have been caused by overheated high-voltage cables.
