Jilin officials, executives punished over deadly fire, colliery blasts

BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 Chinese officials and enterprise executives found to be responsible for two deadly workplace accidents were prosecuted, sacked or given disciplinary punishment, the State Council said Saturday. The State Council, or China's cabinet, said in a statement it had approved an investigation report regarding two deadly accidents in northeastern province of Jilin as well as a punishment proposal for those responsible for the accidents that left 174 people dead in total. Thirty-five people including government officials and company executives would be transferred to the judicial authorities for prosecution, while 73 others, including Jilin's deputy governor Gu Chunli, deputy governor and police chief Huang Guanchun, and former top work safety official Jin Hua, have been given disciplinary sanctions. A fire ripped through a poultry plant owned by the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company in Dehui City on June 3 , leaving 121 dead and 76 injured. The fire came months after two coal mine blasts that occurred on March 29 and April 1, respectively, at the Babao Coal Mine in Baishan City, Jilin Province, killed 53 people and injured 20 others.