Seventeen people have been disciplined or put under judicial investigation for last year's catastrophic wreckage on the Yellow Sea, off the coast of east China, which caused 282 deaths and 90 million yuan in property loss, according to an official announcement.
Four of them, including the general manager and his deputy, of the Yantai Ferry Car Company, of Yantai City, Shandong Province, were expelled from the company and the Communist Party of China and are now under judicial investigation.
The 13 others, including Li Chunting, governor of Shandong Province, and Huang Zhendong, minister of communications, have received administrative punishments of varying degrees.
On November 24, 1999, "Dashun", the ferryboat with 262 passengers and 40 crew on board, capsized off the coast of Yantai due to bad weather, huge waves, and errors made by the captain, Qu Hengming, and the crew. The captain's death has prevented him from judicial persecution.
President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji showed great concern over the accident. Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo rushed to Yantai on behalf of the central government.
(Xinhua 11/22/2000)
