All firework factories in Hebei to halt production ( 2003-07-30 07:08) (Agencies)
Authorities
in north China's Hebei province have ordered all fireworks factories to halt
production following an explosion which killed at least 29 people and injured
more than 100.
A wounded victim in hospital
after a fireworks factory blast in Wangkou township of Xinji, North
China's Hebei province, July 29, 2003.
[newsphoto.com.cn]
The factories are required to
remain shut until they pass safety inspections, the China Central Broadcasting
Station said Wednesday.
The blast
Monday evening in Guoxi village killed 29 people, including the factory manager,
and injured more than 100.
Around 169
people were working at the time and only 30 of them escaped when the factory
collapsed, the radio station said.
An official
in charge of work safety in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang said Wednesday
rescue crews had finished sifting through the rubble and had retrieved all the
victims buried.
"The deaths
won't increase by much. The clean-up work at the scene has been completed," said
the official, surnamed Zhang.
"Seventy-one
people are still in hospital."
Many of
victims have serious injuries, including severe burns, hospital officials said.
Initial
investigation shows that the blast was caused by heat-induced ignition of
gunpowder following several days of unusually hot weather.
The radio
station said the blast happened after workers took the gunpowder outdoors to dry
under the sun because it was damp and lumpy, causing the explosives to ignite in
the heat.
The force of
the explosion was so strong that it partly destroyed an office building more
than 100 metres (330 feet) away while cars and motorcycles were set alight, the
China News Service said.
The factory
was built in 1984 and had employed 220 workers, the radio station said.
