Two high-ranking research groups couldn't see the hidden dangers in Xinxing Coal Mine in Hegang, Heilongjiang province, where a blast over the weekend killed more than 100 people. The members of the research groups should also be held responsible for the tragedy, says an article in Yanzhao Metropolis Daily. Excerpts:

A key State-owned enterprise in Hegang in Heilongjiang province has become the scene of an avoidable tragedy. Just three days before the Nov 21 blast that killed more than 100 people, a production safety research group, headed by the deputy director of Heilongjiang administration of work-place safety, had inspected the Xinxing Coal Mine.

Another research group had done the same earlier. The State Administration of Coal Mine Safety (SACMS) had reportedly sent a survey group to Hegang. The team even held a forum at the end of its Nov 11-13 inspection tour, which was addressed among others by SACMS deputy director Fu Jianhua.

It is difficult to understand how two high-ranking inspections teams failed to see the hidden dangers in the mine. Did the teams' members really conduct on-site inspections in Hegang? Did they go to the Xinxing mine at all?

The fact is that many research groups visit grassroots units but hardly conduct thorough inspections and come up with usual assessments at the end of every year. Take production safety checks for example. Although government organs at all levels attach great importance to them, serious production safety accidents keep on occurring.

We don't know whether the research teams feel guilty for the Xinxing accident and the death of so many people. But shouldn't they be held accountable, at least partly, for failing to see that the accident was waiting to happen?