China to launch nationwide safety overhaul

BEIJING - China will launch a nationwide work safety overhaul this month to prevent the occurrence of major accidents, the country's work safety watchdog said on Saturday.

The State Administration of Work Safety will send 16 teams to oversee safety checks in 31 provinces, regions and municipalities and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps., with each team in charge of two places.

Safety measures should be enhanced in industries including coal mines, transportation, hazardous chemicals and fireworks, as well as in public places, according to the administration.

A special safety overhaul on the country's oil and gas pipeline will begin in early March, the administration said.

China witnessed a series of tragedies in 2013. A fire at a poultry factory on June 3 in northeast China's Jilin Province claimed 121 lives. In November, 62 people died in an oil pipeline blast in Qingdao city of East China's Shandong province.