2 senior Ningxia officials punished for deadly restaurant gas explosion

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two senior officials of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have been subjected to disciplinary Party penalties for neglecting their duties and failing to fulfill their responsibilities in a deadly restaurant gas explosion last year, according to an official statement on Saturday.

Chen Chunping, vice chairman of the regional government of Ningxia, was given a warning within the Party, while Zhao Xuhui, Party chief of Yinchuan, the regional capital, was handed a severe warning. Both Chen and Zhao are standing committee members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee of Ningxia.

The decision to hand down penalties was made by the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and approved by the CPC Central Committee.

The blast occurred on June 21, 2023, at a barbecue restaurant on a busy street in Yinchuan, when liquefied petroleum gas leaked from the restaurant, leaving 31 dead and seven injured.

A CCDI investigation found that Chen, who was in charge of Ningxia's affairs related to workplace safety, had neglected his administrative and supervisory duties related to the gas safety work of the autonomous region.

Zhao was found to have neglected his duties related to supervising the law-enforcement work of relevant departments and overseeing the gas and catering sectors.

Public security authorities of Ningxia launched a probe into 15 persons suspected of crimes in the incident, including the owner of the restaurant, and 11 of them have been arrested.

Besides, a total of 66 public servants have been held accountable for suspected violation of discipline and law, including five that are under disciplinary review and supervisory investigations for suspected serious violations of discipline, law and duty-related crimes.

The other 61 public servants, including officials of several departments of the autonomous regional government and a vice mayor of Yinchuan, were dealt with accordingly.