Beijing has reported 401 deaths from accidents and fires in the
first four months of the year, the municipality's work safety
bureau said on Tuesday.
The bureau filed 358 road and work accidents in the first four
months of the year, 20 percent down on the same period of last
year. The 401 deaths were down 19.5 percent year-on-year.
The bureau recorded four accidents that each killed two people
in April, said Zhou Yuqiu, director of the municipal work safety
bureau.
Zhou said the main causes of the accidents were neglect of work
safety, poor management and improper operation.
Beijing has launched its sixth annual program to raise awareness
of work safety, said Zhou.
In early May, the Ministry of Supervision punished 133 people
who were held responsible for five serious accidents that claimed
249 lives. Fifty-one of them were transferred to judicial
departments and 82 government officials at city and county levels
have been disciplined.
(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2007)