Number of deaths at work reduced to 38 thousand in China in 2017

Beijing. January 30. Silkroadnews - Number of deaths at work was reduced to 38 thousand in China in 2017, the Eyewitness News portal reported.
“China’s coal sector - once notoriously unsafe - saw 375 fatalities in 2017, down 28.7% on the year. The number of deaths caused by workplace accidents in China fell 12.1 percent to 38,000 in 2017 compared to the previous year,” the report said.
At the same time, fines for occupational safety violations grew 58% year-on-year and amounted to about 3.3 billion yuan ($521.10 million), the Minister of the State Administration of Work Safety Wang Yupu has noted.
After a series of nationwide campaigns against illegal mining, the number of deaths in the coal sector has steadily decreased from a peak of almost 5,000 in 2003.
A recent campaign against overcapacity in this sector also contributed to strengthen safety, resulting in the closure of a total of 6,100 small mines during 2017.
Huang Yuzhi, the head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety of China, warned that about 28% of all coal mines in the country still have an annual production capacity of less than 90,000 tonnes and, therefore, there is a higher probability of accidents, the report said.