China construction site gas blast kills 42

BEIJING (Reuters) – A gas blast at a construction site in
China’s southwestern province of Sichuan has killed at least 42
people, state media said on Friday, the latest statistic in a
grim series of workplace disasters.

Eleven were injured in the explosion on Thursday in a
highway tunnel under construction between the cities of
Dujiangyan and Wenchuan. Most of the victims were construction
workers, the report said.

The exact number of casualties was unclear, with search and
rescue operations still under way.

China is known for its poor workplace standards, as
pressure to mine resources and build roads and other
infrastructure to keep pace with the demands of the world’s
fastest-growing major economy leads to compromises on safety.

Its mining industry is the world’s deadliest, claiming some
6,000 lives last year.

Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work
Safety Supervision, was to give the results of a government
investigation into recent coal mine accidents later on Friday.

The International Labour Organization estimated the number
of fatal workplace accidents in China in 2001 at more than
90,000.