21 April 2016•Update: 28 April 2016
By Mahmut Atanur
BEIJING
A Chinese work safety bureau has recommended that 33 officials are penalized over an explosion that killed 17 people at a restaurant in eastern Anhui Province, alongside the owner of the establishment, state media reported Thursday.
The provincial bureau of work safety released an investigative report saying that the accident last October was caused by liquefied gas leaking from a cylinder’s disconnected valve, making contact with fire and sparking a blast.
The explosion on a popular street for dining in Wuhu city caused around 15.29 million yuan ($2.36 million) in direct economic losses, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The provincial investigation team recommended that the restaurant’s owner, Zhang Baoping, face criminal charges for using “worn-out cylinders” and not managing the leak situation properly.
Its report also called for disciplinary action, such as dismissals or warnings, against 33 officials from Jinghu District -- including its director -- and relevant departments in Wuhu’s administration.
It suggested that four officials of a local gas cylinder firm that supplied the leaking unit, including its chairman, receive fines amounting to 60 percent of their 2014 incomes and the company be fined 199,000 yuan ($30,740).
According to statistics available from the official China Gas Association, more than 350 gas explosions at homes and business left 127 people dead and 712 injured countrywide last year.
The majority of the accidents were reportedly caused by human error, negligence and improper use of combustible items.
