4th LD-Writethru: Victims of China restaurant explosion mourned

YINCHUAN, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Local officials bowed to express deep condolences to the victims of a deadly restaurant explosion in Yinchuan, the capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, at a press conference held on Thursday night.

Tao Shaohua, mayor of Yinchuan, also expressed sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured, and extended deep apologies to the people of Yinchuan.

The explosion occurred at approximately 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday at Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant on a busy street in Xingqing District in Yinchuan, when liquefied petroleum gas leaked from the restaurant. The explosion killed 31 people and injured seven. All the injured now have been in stable condition after receiving medical treatment.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Tao said the explosion was the most serious accident in Ningxia for years, which has caused huge losses to lives and property, with extremely heavy costs and painful lessons.

The mayor said the work had started to hold accountable those responsible. Public security authorities have taken control of nine individuals, including the restaurant's manager, shareholders and employees. Assets of the nine people have been frozen.

Starting Thursday, Yinchuan will launch a one-month campaign for safety risk investigation and rectification, focusing on key areas such as gas, dangerous chemicals, mines, construction and transportation, as well as key periods such as the flood season, summer vacation and construction period.