BEIJING (AFP) — The death toll from a gas leak at a steel plant in north China has risen to 21, after executives admitted they had covered up the true scale of the accident, state media said Friday.

When the gas leak occurred at the Puyang Iron and Steel Co. in Hebei province on Monday, officials initially said that only seven workers were killed, Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities.
But company executives confessed Thursday that it had covered up the death toll during questioning by a joint investigative group made up of police and work safety officials, the report said.
The deputy manager of the plant was subsequently arrested and two other factory officials placed under house arrest for the alleged cover-up, it said.
China's work safety record is notoriously bad, with thousands of people dying every year in mines, factories and on construction sites, according to official tallies.
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