Mine Owner Kills Himself After Deadly Accident

The owner of a mine in China's Shandong province was apparently overcome by either remorse or a fear of authorities after a collapse killed at least one worker and left another 17 trapped. The gypsum mine owner jumped into a well and drowned in an apparent suicide Sunday while rescuers were still trying to reach the miners who had been trapped by the Friday collapse, according to state media.

The BBC notes that while the mine owner's motive is unknown, authorities in China have started handing down harsher punishments to employers found guilty of negligence. That may explain another suicide in China on Sunday: The AP reports that the chief of the Urban Management Bureau in a district of Shenzhen jumped to his death from a building a week after a landslide buried an industrial park in the area. It's not clear whether the official was facing any charges for the disaster, which left 75 people missing and presumed dead under a sea of mud and debris. (More China stories.)