Officials on Tuesday formed a team to investigate media reports that 29 cultural relics from the Guizhou Provincial Museum were lost or stolen, the provincial department of culture and tourism said in a statement.

The statement said the 29 relics went missing or were stolen between 1986 and 2008. The Guizhou Provincial Museum has published tracing notices on the Stolen (Lost) Cultural Relics Information Publishing Platform of China to help public security and cultural relics authorities recover the items if any leads emerge.

The provincial department of culture and tourism said it will deal sternly with any responsible persons in accordance with laws and regulations following the investigation and urged museums across the province to strengthen management of their collections to ensure relic safety.