BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 7,321 people died from 44,584 accidents in China this June, down 10.4 percent and 11.8 percent respectively from the same period of last year, the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) reported on Monday.

Industrial accidents amounted to 635 in June, killing 747, down18.5 percent and 20.2 percent respectively. Of the figures, colliery accidents numbered 159 and claimed 229 lives, down 7.6 percent and 19.4 percent respectively.

The provinces and regions of Sichuan, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan,Inner Mongolia and Henan have reported more accidents and death toll in June, said the report.

In a monthly update on the country's production safety for June, it noted that cover-ups of severe accidents still happened from time to time.

Four severe production accidents involving 22 people dead or missing had been covered up and verified later by production safety authorities in June with the help of informants,

The most notorious case involved a water leakage in Yuanzigou Colliery of Chenjialing Village, Hejin City of north China's Shanxi Province, which killed six and caused three others missing.

The update said that more severe accidents occurred in metallurgical and non-metallurgical mines and construction sites in June.