BEIJING, Dec. 28 -- Accidents involving the use of special equipment such as elevators and boilers left 24 people dead and 26 injured last month in China, a government official said.

The death toll was two less than that in the same period last year, said Chen Xitong, a spokesman for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The casualties stemmed from 16 separate accidents, with elevators reporting the most accidents at seven, Chen said at a press conference on Friday.

He added that investigations into the accidents are underway.

A lack of safety awareness, improper use of equipment and slack security management at work sites are mainly the causes to such accidents, which are reported on a monthly basis by the government agency.