Official: Accidents kill 60292 in first half year ( 2003-07-26 08:23) (China Daily)
One of China's top work safety officials warned the nation's enterprises on
Friday they will face closure if they fail to protect their employees.
Wang Dexue, vice-director of the State Administration for Safe Production
Supervision, made the warning hot on the heels of the release of figures showing
that a total of 60,292 people were killed in the first six months of the year in
487,402 accidents across the country.
The number of accidents is 64,000 fewer than the same period last year, and
the death toll is 4,346 less.
Urging enterprises to improve their work safety record, Wang warned: "Those
who fail to do so will be shut down.''
The work safety situation in the first half of the year remained stable as a
whole, but was serious in some regions and industries, Wang said in Beijing.
Seven especially severe accidents causing 30 or more fatalities each occurred
in the first half of the year, killing 349. The number of such accidents is four
more than that in the same period last year.
Very severe accidents that claim 10 more lives each have not been effectively
brought under control in industries such as coal mining, road traffic and
waterborne traffic, Wang said.
For example, 23 very severe accidents occurred in coal mines, accounting for
33.8 per cent of the total number of such accidents. The accidents killed 534
people, 43.2 per cent of the whole death toll.
During the first half of the year the administration also made efforts to
punish those responsible for accidents, Wang said.
He said 23 people had been punished for a coal mine blast in North China's
Shanxi Province on March 22, which killed 72 people and injured four.
The punished include Meng Zhaokang, the manager of the Mengnanzhuang Coal
Mine in Luliang region, who was held criminal responsibility.
The coal mine was fined more than 21.1 million yuan (US$2.5 million), which
is the largest fine in recent years for a mining accidents.
Wang said the administration and safe production supervision departments at
all levels will strengthen their work.
Wang said that if one non-licensed mine is found in a township or two such
mines are found in a county, senior officials in the township or the county will
take responsibility, he said.
In another development, 12 people were killed by a traffic accident in
Jingchuan County in Northwest China's Gansu Province on Thursday afternoon.
According to Wang Peilin, the county's transport police chief, the 38 injured
by the accident are all in hospital and in a stable condition.
He added that the accident took place when a truck crashed into a bus from
behind, causing the bus to fall off the road.
