Jilin officials, executives punished over deadly fire, colliery blasts

BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 Chinese officials and enterprise executives found to be responsible for two deadly workplace accidents were prosecuted, sacked, demoted or given disciplinary punishment, the State Council said Saturday.

The State Council, or China's cabinet, said in a statement it had approved an investigation report regarding the two deadly accidents in northeastern province of Jilin as well as a punishment proposal for those responsible for the accidents that left 174 people dead in total.

Thirty-five people including government officials and company executives would be transferred to the judicial authorities for prosecution, while 73 others, including Jilin's deputy governor Gu Chunli, deputy governor and police chief Huang Guanchun, and former top work safety official Jin Hua, have been given disciplinary sanctions.

The Jilin provincial government was ordered by the State Council to conduct self-criticism.

A fire ripped through a poultry plant owned by the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Dehui City on June 3 , leaving 121 dead and 76 injured.

The fire came months after two coal mine blasts that occurred on March 29 and April 1, respectively, at the Babao Coal Mine in Baishan City, Jilin Province, killed 53 people and injured 20 others.

Both cases are "extraordinarily significant liability accidents," the report said, indicating human errors, particularly the lack of work safety supervision, are to blame.

In the Dehui fire accident, an electrical short has been identified as the direct cause, and the short ignited "combustible goods" nearby and the heat set off "physical explosions" of ammonia equipment and pipelines, according to the report.

Meanwhile, lack of safety measures within the workshop as well as lax supervision by fire-control, construction, and work safety supervision authorities are also to blame for the accident, the report said.

Nineteen people including the company's board chairman Jia Yushan, general manager Zhang Yushen, and firefighting officials in Dehui and Changchun, capital of Jilin, as well as local government officials were subject to judicial punishment.

Apart from deputy governor Huang Guanchun, those who were given disciplinary punishment also include Changchun Mayor Jiang Qiaying, and Li Shutian, general director of the provincial firefighting brigade.

Dehui city's Party chief Zhang Dexiang, mayor Liu Changchun, and police chief Wang Hua'an were dismissed from their posts.

Dereliction of duty was also reported in the Babao Coal Mine blasts, according to the investigation report.

Due to insufficient fire-preventing measures, self-ignition of coal led to gas blasts in the mine, the report said, referring to the direct cause of the blasts.

After the initial blasts and 36 fatalities on March 29, the company violated a production ban by sending workers into the pit again, where a gas blast on April 1 killed 17 people and injured 8, according to the investigation report.

Meanwhile, poor management at the mine and lax supervision from the Baishan municipal government and related authorities are also to blame for the accident, the report said.

Sixteen people, including Zhao Xianwen, board chairman and general manager of Tonghua Mining Company, which owns the mine, as well as his deputies, have been prosecuted.

Baishan Mayor Peng Yonglin and his deputy were also given disciplinary sanctions along with Jilin's deputy governor Gu Chunli and former top work safety official Jin Hua.

Yuan Yuqing, board chairman of Jilin Provincial Coal Industry Group, the parent company of Tonghua Mining Company, was sacked while the general manager of the group Jia Liming was demoted.

The State Council has ordered the governments of all levels in Jilin and related authorities as well as enterprises to draw lessons from the accidents and carry out thorough safety checks so as to ensure work safety.