A State Council meeting presided by Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday ordered that investigations into workplace accidents be strengthened and that harsher punishment be handed down for negligence.

The meeting discussed and in principle passed a draft regulation on the reporting, investigation and handling of workplace accidents, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The meeting said that the handling work of workplace accidents is a "very serious thing".

"There will be no end until the cause (of an accident) is found out, the responsible is punished and the redressing measures are carried out," the meeting said.

The regulation stipulates that the reporting of workplace accidents must be in time, accurate and complete.

Each individual or unit should not delay, lie, hide or miss the reporting.

And no one should intervene or hinder the investigation of an accident. The result of the handling should be made public.

On March 18 a coal mine gas blast in North China's Shanxi Province killed all the 21 people working underground at that time.

The mine owner covered up the disaster, which led to a delay of nearly two days before rescue work started.

The State Council has vowed to severely punish officials and businessmen involved in the cover-up of the accident.

Statistics from the State Administration of Work Safety showed that China lost 112,822 lives in more than 620,000 accidents last year, a year-on-year decrease of 11.2 percent.

The country's accident-prone coal mines also saw a drastic decrease in the number of deaths last year.

The meeting also discussed and agreed to pass another two draft regulations on water information and seaman management.

(China Daily 03/29/2007 page4)