Eleven people who are held responsible for a major fireworks factory blast in Luxi County, east China's Jiangxi Province, that left 16 persons dead and another three injured early this month, were punished.

That was revealed from a decision made by the executive meeting of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government held on Monday.

The decision suggests that six people, who are believed to shoulder direct responsibility for the explosion, including Zeng Hailin, legal person of the factory, should be sought after their criminal responsibilities for the accident.

In accordance with the decision, Li Haoran, head of Yuannan Township government in Luxi County, and Li Zizhong, deputy head of the township government, as well as Ye Guanghua, deputy director of Xinfeng County Handicraft Industry Cooperatives, who are all considered to bear direct leadership responsibilities for the accident, are ousted from their respective posts.

In the meantime, Liu Jiafu, head of Luxi County Government, and He Genfa, deputy head of the county government, are also given major demerits for shouldering leadership responsibility for the accident.

On June 9, a major fireworks explosion took place at Huayuan Firecracker Factory in Luxi County, as workers with the factory had violated factory rules to stored 170 kilograms of dynamite in the workshop.

The factory regulation stipulates that only 2.5 kilograms of dynamite is allowed to be kept in the workshop.

A total of 16 people were killed and three others were injured in the accident.

Investigation shows that the accident was caused by a neglect of responsibility including illegal operation and chaotic management of the factory workshop.

Source: Xinhua