Officials summoned for misrepresenting blast accident deaths

The Work Safety Committee of the State Council, the country's cabinet, has summoned leading officials of Changsha and Liuyang in Hunan province for hiding the real number of deaths in a deadly blast earlier this month and for rampant work safety violations in its jurisdiction.

Local authorities reported that the Dec 4 accident in Liuyang, a county-level city under Changsha that is noted for its fireworks industry, killed seven people and injured 13.

An investigation team dispatched by the Hunan provincial government, however, found the blast in Bixi Fireworks Manufacturing Limited actually claimed 13 lives, according to a media release from the Ministry of Emergency Management on Monday.

"After the accident, local authorities hid the true death toll, an action that was of an odious nature and has exerted an extremely negative influence," the release said.

The accident exposed serious and outstanding problems in the local fireworks industry where, despite repeated warnings, some companies still illegally outsource their orders, use one production certificate for different factories, or violate safety regulations in production, including using excessive amounts of gunpowder, it said.

The release also noted loopholes in the region's fireworks export governance.

"In the name of manufacturing for export, some factories make products that don't meet national compulsory standards," it said.

In addition to combing through all firework factories in its jurisdiction to rule out violations, the committee also demanded the local government shut down all fireworks production workshops that "don't have the conditions to ensure safe production", and make continuous efforts to upgrade facilities in fireworks factories to enhance safety management, according to the statement.

Among those summoned were also heads of the Hunan provincial emergency management authority and its subordinate bodies in Changsha and Liuyang.