A government official in Gansu province has been suspended, after a coal mine accident that killed four people and wounded five on Jan 3, the Lanzhou Morning Post reported on Monday.

According to the newspaper, the official - the vice-director of the Administration of Work Safety in Sunan county - and two safety supervisors at the Jinyuan Coal Mine were responsible for supervising the coal company.

Four other people, including the head of the coal mine, who had a direct responsibility for the accident and are suspected of concealing facts from the authorities are in police custody.