Eleven Die in Factory Bombing

Eleven people have been killed and eight injured in a factory bombing in the city of Puning in eastern Guangdong Province, China Daily reported.

The dead were 7 men and 4 women, who had come from outside the area to work in the city of Guangdong.

Two of those injured in Sunday's blast were seriously hurt. The factory had just 20 staff.

Police believe the explosion was caused by former employee Tang Qibing, who was also killed during the explosion and believed to be seeking revenge against the factory owner.

Tang, 49, was related to Huang Hanxuan, the factory's owner.

Tang was employed as a manager, but Huang fired him in May after the pair argued.

Tang took explosives to the factory on Sunday and set them off when workers were having their lunch.

Local government officials and police rushed to the site to rescue the injured.

According to Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, the number of fires in South China's Guangdong Province increased by 27.9 per cent to 1,432 in the first six months of the year, killing 188 people, up 1.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Another 224 people were injured in the first half of 2000, down 12.2 per cent on the same period last year.

It cost the economy more than 50 million yuan (more than US$6 million), down by 35.7 per cent.

"Fire is threatening the prosperous province which borders Hong Kong and Macao,'' an official from the Provincial Bureau of Public Security said yesterday.

Big blazes this year include those at Jiangmen and Huilai.

Thirty-eight people were killed and another 167 injured in a fireworks factory explosion in the city of Jiangmen on June 30.

And 17 people were killed in Huilai County's fire disaster on March 28 in eastern Guangdong Province.

Earlier this month, six people were killed in a blaze in a guesthouse in the province's coastal city of Shantou. Three people were injured.

To improve safety and try to prevent further fires, Guangdong has launched a campaign to inspect all companies in the area.

Firms with poor safety will have to stop production until they improve the situation.

Anyone who causes a fire will be seriously punished.



People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/