Dozens Punished for Safety Violations, Leading to Millions in Losses

Dozens Punished for Safety Violations

The fire that engulfed the grand auditorium of Henan University in May has resulted in the punishment of dozens of individuals, local authorities announced on Saturday. The blaze, which occurred during renovations, caused significant damage to the historic building and resulted in a direct economic loss of 27.43 million yuan ($3.79 million).

An investigation by the local fire rescue department revealed that the fire was caused by safety management deficiencies during the renovation efforts. The investigation found that the renovations crew engaged in illegal open flame operations, the supervisory unit neglected its duties, the design unit violated regulations, and local Party committees, governments, relevant functional departments and units failed to fulfill their responsibilities properly.

The accident investigation team determined that the direct cause of the incident was the improper use of a liquefied petroleum gas spray gun by workers as they were waterproofing the roof. The high-temperature flame ignited the wooden roof below the waterproofing material, leading to the fire.

Sixteen individuals, including personnel from the construction and supervision teams, are suspected of committing crimes and have been investigated and transferred to judicial authorities for legal proceedings by public security organs. Administrative penalties have been imposed by relevant departments at Henan University on the design, construction, supervision and testing units involved in the auditorium renovation project for their illegal actions.

The disciplinary and supervisory authorities have taken serious measures against 32 officials from local Party committees, governments, relevant functional departments and units for their dereliction of duty in the accident. Among them, a warning was given to Song Zhenghui, vice-governor of Henan; 26 people, including Mao Jie, director of the provincial department of education, received disciplinary punishment; and five individuals suspected of committing crimes — including Qi Tao, deputy general manager of Henan University's logistics group — have been handed over to judicial authorities for legal processing.