Another sad episode in the seemingly never-ending story of mining disasters in China took place in the country’s Guangdong Province, where over 120 workers most probably drowned in an illegally-operated coal mine on August 7. The mine, partly owned by local officials in Xingning, Guangdong, was reportedly seriously mismanaged, with health and safety issues being widely ignored. According to Li Yizhong, director of the National Bureau of Production Safety Supervision and Administration, "the tragedy was caused by mine-owners' greed for economic profits and malignant violation of safety rules". He also said that the mine did not have a production license, and that it had ignored a government order to suspend production following a flooding incident at a nearby mine on July 14. The provincial authorities in Guangdong and the Chinese Central Government have started an inquiry into the tragedy and ordered 69 officials to make themselves available to investigators.Two mayors have already been suspended.