Shandong Province held an emergency tele-conference Monday to strengthen safety in production during the flood season.

The provincial government decided that from now to September, it will investigate the situation in production safety in all the sectors, with the implementation of measures for production safety in the flood season as the priority.

Coal mines were a major focus of the program, with county and town governments and legal representatives of infringing businesses to face action if rules were broken.

Severe punishment was threatened for leaders of local governments and enterprises if coal mines were found to be operating illegally.

The new program follows a coal mine flood accident on Saturday, which claimed at least 11 lives in the province.

The provincial government is still investigating the cause of the accident. (PD)