Officials punished after blast death toll cover-up
By Li Qian |
August 30, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE head of the work safety authority in central Henan Province has been sacked and several other officials dismissed or suspended for covering up the death toll of a fireworks factory blast.
The June 18 explosion at the Dongtun Fireworks Factory in Huaiyang County left 28 people dead and 20 injured, but local officials initially reported just seven deaths and 14 people with injuries.
The head of the county, Hu Jingxu, and two deputy directors, Lei Tingjun and Zhang Haiyang, were suspended while the director of the county's work safety bureau, Fan Minhua, and several other major county officials were sacked, the Henan Administration of Work Safety said.
An initial investigation found that five workers had been killed at the scene and two died after emergency treatment failed.
But local villagers had their doubts about the accuracy of the casualty numbers and alerted provincial authorities early this month.
The province's work safety bureau, after checking with villagers and the local hospital, found that the death toll was 21 higher than local officials had said and there were six more injured.
Of the 20 injured, nine have retuned home but 11 remain in hospital.
At the time of the blast, the factory was operating illegally as it had been ordered to suspend production after the expiry of its license.
The June 18 explosion at the Dongtun Fireworks Factory in Huaiyang County left 28 people dead and 20 injured, but local officials initially reported just seven deaths and 14 people with injuries.
The head of the county, Hu Jingxu, and two deputy directors, Lei Tingjun and Zhang Haiyang, were suspended while the director of the county's work safety bureau, Fan Minhua, and several other major county officials were sacked, the Henan Administration of Work Safety said.
An initial investigation found that five workers had been killed at the scene and two died after emergency treatment failed.
But local villagers had their doubts about the accuracy of the casualty numbers and alerted provincial authorities early this month.
The province's work safety bureau, after checking with villagers and the local hospital, found that the death toll was 21 higher than local officials had said and there were six more injured.
Of the 20 injured, nine have retuned home but 11 remain in hospital.
At the time of the blast, the factory was operating illegally as it had been ordered to suspend production after the expiry of its license.
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