The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said Monday that China's accident death toll was down 14 percent year on year in the first five months of 2006 but gave no specific number.

Industrial and traffic accidents are conflated in China's statistics which makes it difficult to obtain a clear picture of the industrial safety situation in the country.

Three severe accidents that each killed more than 30 people occurred in the first five months of the year, one more than in the same period last year.

The three accidents included two mine explosions and the deaths of 32 workers in Tieling City, northeastern Liaoning province, when a steel ladle -- used for pouring molten steel -- sheared off from the iron rail linking it to a blast furnace.

According to the SAWS, the number of accidents that killed more than ten declined 16.2 percent year on year.

However, the number of accidents with more than three fatalities -- in the fields of construction, industries that produce high-risk goods, and waterway transport -- had risen, the SAWS said without giving further details.

Accident prevention measures are still not effective and there are major safety loopholes in high-risk industries such as coal mines, said SAWS head Li Yizhong.

The rain and hot weather in June will increase risks for coal mines, transportation, and other high-risk industries, the SAWS said, pleading for caution for all concerned.

A nationwide campaign will run from May to September aimed at finding and fixing safety loopholes.

No information was provided about traffic deaths during the period.

Accidents claimed 30,753 Chinese in the first four months of the year, the SAWS said earlier.

Source: Xinhua