![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: World: Asia-Pacific | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]()
|
![]() |
Wednesday, 7 March, 2001, 15:25 GMT
Fireworks blamed for China school deaths
![]() Four classrooms collapsed in the explosion
A massive explosion that demolished a Chinese primary school killing dozens of children was caused by fireworks, officials have confirmed.
Reports suggest the school was using pupils as young as eight years old to assemble fireworks to boost its income.
Some witnesses put the death toll at about 60. Nearly all the victims are believed to have been young children. The school in Fang Lin village, Jiangxi province, was packed with about 300 pupils and teachers when the blast ripped through the two-storey building at 1110 (0310 GMT) on Tuesday, destroying four classrooms.
They said the explosion was caused by a faulty fuse. Sources told the French AFP news agency that children as young as eight years old were forced to make fireworks at the school, 700km (440 miles) south-west of Shanghai. The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights in China said the school, used the fireworks business to boost its income. Income Local officials say investigations are continuing, but one said criminal charges were likely to be brought against those involved.
More than 30 people died in an explosion at a fireworks factory in the same province last year and similar accidents are believed to claim hundreds of lives each year. Poverty Military units have joined the rescue efforts and the provincial governor flew back from Beijing, where he was attending China's annual parliament session, to supervise the operation. The extent of poverty in the region was emphasised when phone calls to the local fire brigade were met with a recorded message, saying the number had been disconnected because phone bills had not been paid. Rescue work has been hampered by the remote location of the village - emergency personnel say their mobile phones do not work.
|
![]() |
See also:
![]() Top Asia-Pacific stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Asia-Pacific stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Asia-Pacific stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |