Lessons seen in Ningxia blast

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has told authorities across the country to draw lessons from the recent deadly explosion in a restaurant in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and take effective measures to reduce safety risks.

Premier Li Qiang presided over a State Council executive meeting on Thursday to hear a report on further screening for major risks and hidden dangers in workplaces and improving relevant management work, according to a statement released after the meeting.

An explosion ripped through a barbecue restaurant in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, on June 21. It caused heavy casualties, had a significant social impact and left a profound lesson, the meeting was told.

The blast left 31 dead and seven injured. It occurred due to a leakage of liquefied petroleum gas, according to a preliminary investigation by the local government.

The statement stressed that the important instructions and directives on workplace safety given by President Xi Jinping should be fully implemented, and actions should be rolled out to further investigate workplaces for major risks and hidden dangers and beef up rectification work.

On June 22, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made an instruction urging more efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

All regions and related departments should screen for and rectify all types of risks and hidden dangers, Xi said.

Relevant departments should launch a campaign to promote workplace safety at an early date and enhance the safety overhaul of key sectors and industries, he added.

The statement from the State Council meeting said work should be carried out in a comprehensive manner to curb the occurrence of major and serious workplace safety accidents, and protect the safety of people's lives and property.

In addition to problems with facilities, it said measures should also be rolled out to target management loopholes with intensified efforts to promote the public's safety awareness, strengthen accountability for workplace safety and beef up workers' competence in safety management.

The statement emphasized gas, construction and transportation as key sectors for safety management. While seizing the opportunity to address the current outstanding problems in these sectors, local authorities need to make efforts to reduce hazards at the root to avoid a repeat of such accidents.

It also stressed the necessity to eliminate lax law enforcement. Local grassroots authorities should also take greater responsibility to ensure that problems will not only be discovered, but also effectively addressed.