Photos: Chinese Mine Company President Commits Suicide After Gypsum Mine Collapses

The owner of a collapsed Chinese mine Friday drowned himself to death after he jumped into a well in an apparent suicide as more than 700 rescuers battle to save workers still trapped underground.

State media reported that 17 workers were still trapped, and one had died when the gypsum mine collapsed in the eastern province of Shandong.
A total of 29 people were working underground when the collapse occurred at about 8am on Friday and ten of them were rescued on the same day.

The president of the company that owns the mine, Ma Congbo, of Yurong Commerce and Trade Ltd. Co., was helping rescue efforts when State media, when he jumped into a mine well and drowned, according to state media who were quoting a morning briefing by the rescue command center.

Rescuers have drilled a hole to try to get to one of the places where the workers are trapped, and are attempting to bring food and water to them. 

Chinese authorities have typically meted out harsh punishments, including jail sentences, to company management and local work safety officials following major work safety disasters.

Accidents in Chinese coal mines killed 931 people last year, according to government data, while figures for all mining accidents were unavailable.

The Miners were extracting Gypsum, a soft sulfate mineral widely used in construction when the accident occurred and at the mine  is said to be under investigation.

China, the world's largest producer of coal, says the number of fatalities is declining. But some rights groups argue the actual figures are significantly higher due to under-reporting.

Anger about industrial safety standards is growing after scores of deaths this year, including this month's landslide in the southern commercial hub of Shenzhen and a chemical blast in the industrial city of Tianjin in August.

Since the mine collapse on Friday, rescuers have pulled 11 workers to safety and recovered one body.