14 sentenced over China pipeline blast

At least 14 people were sentenced to three to five years in prison on Monday over a pipeline blast that claimed 63 lives in the city of Qingdao in 2013.

The blast that took place on November 22, 2013 also left another 156 people injured and caused a loss of $123 million, Xinhua quoted Huangdao district court of Qingdao city as saying.

The reason for the accident was maintenance staff drilling, which produced sparks and caused an explosion fuelled by oil leaked from a pipeline owned by a subsidiary of Sinopec, the country's largest oil refiner, according to a special investigation group report.

The court sentenced eight people from the oil companies to three to five years in prison for breaking work safety rules.

Six other people from the government were sent to prison for three to three-and-half years for dereliction of duty.

Four people were given a two-year reprieve.

Over 60 people were penalised for the blast, with at least 48 receiving punishments for violating party and administrative disciplines.