Tianjin blasts: Investigators urge punishment for five top officials
Official report into disaster blames party committees and government departments over safety failures that led to deadly warehouse blasts
In a rare move, Chinese authorities are expected to punish five ministerial-level officials for a massive blast at a Tianjin warehouse in August that claimed 165 lives, with the release on Friday of the official report into the explosion.
Eight people are still missing and another 798 were injured in the disaster. The explosion also damaged 304 buildings, 12,428 cars, and 7,533 containers, resulting in 6.87 billion yuan (HK$8.14 billion) in losses, the report by the country’s top industry safety watchdog said.
The August 12 blast in Binhai New District ignited fierce criticism over the storage of hazardous chemicals in a warehouse less than 1km from the closest residential building. Many blamed lax regulations for the huge loss of lives and property.
The blast was triggered when nitrocellulose stored at the warehouse belonging to Ruihai International Logistics overheated and self-ignited, the report said.
READ MORE: Full coverage of the Tianjin warehouse explosions
Local Communist Party committees and government departments did not strictly enforce the law or effectively monitor the storage of chemicals at the warehouse, the report said.
