China to punish 33 officials for deadly restaurant blast

Thirty-three government officials will be punished for dereliction of duty in a deadly restaurant blast in east China's Anhui Province that killed 17 people last year, according to authorities.
The explosion occurred on October 10 last year in a restaurant on Yangjia alley, a popular snack street in Jinghu District of Wuhu City, about 350 kilometers west of Shanghai.
Liquefied gas leaked through a disconnected valve from a cylinder and came into contact with fire which caused the explosion, state-run Xinhua quoted local officials as saying.
The investigation team from the provincial bureau of work safety suggested four people from a local gas cylinder company, the supplier of the problematic cylinder in the accident, including the chairman, should be fined 60 per cent of their incomes in 2014.

The report also suggested 33 officials from the Jinghu district and the related departments in Wuhu City, including the director of the district, be given party or administrative punishments ranging from warning to removal from post.
The report also suggested that the company should be fined 199,000 yuan (USD 30,721).
Zhang Baoping, the owner of restaurant, is blamed for the accident for using worn-out cylinders and improperly handling the situation when leak occurred, the report said, suggesting Zhang should be charged for criminal offences.
The explosion had left 17 people dead and resulted in direct economic losses of about 15.29 million yuan (USD 2.3 million).