Chinese President Expresses Concern Over Fireworks ExplosionPresident Jiang Zemin has expressed deep concern over the recent fireworks explosion in south China's Guangdong Province, urging local governments to take immediate measures to ensure industrial safety.The explosion, at a fireworks factory at 8:05 am Friday in Jiangmen City, claimed 36 lives, leaving 160 people injured and more than 30 missing. The provincial committee of the Communist Party of China and the provincial government called an emergency meeting in Jiangmen Saturday morning to make arrangements for safety and rescue work in enterprises throughout the province. Meanwhile, all fireworks factories and manufacturers of cigarette lighters in the province have been ordered to suspend production. Plants of this kind which are located in the populous delta area of the Pearl River may even be closed down. Rescue and restoration work in aftermath of the blast is still underway. Investigators believe that the explosion was ignited by sparks produced by employees pounding iron nails inside the warehouse building. The explosion leveled the 3,200-sq-m factory belonging to the Jiangmen Local Products Export Company. It also blew off roofs, shattered windows and collapsed walls of buildings up to one kilometer away, according to witnesses. Most of the injuries were caused by flying debris, local doctors said. The factory had reportedly ignored an order from local fire departments to improve its fire-fighting and alarm systems. |
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