China charges 10 in power plant collapse that killed 74

SHANGHAI, China – China has charged 10 people over a power plant collapse that killed 74 last month, state media reported Monday, December 19, after first detaining 13 in the immediate aftermath of the accident.

A platform more than 70 metres (230 feet) high in a cooling tower at the Ganneng Fengcheng power station in the central province of Jiangxi crashed to the ground in late November, killing 74 people and injuring another two.

The cooling tower was part of a 7.67 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) expansion plan for the coal-fired power station.

Prosecutors charged 9 people, including the expansion project’s director Deng Yongchao and its quality control head Yang Yunfei, with “dereliction of duty,” Jiancha Daily, the newspaper managed by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate – the national prosecuting authority – reported on Monday.

They “hold major responsibility for the occurrence of the accident”, the report said.

Prosecutors also charged another person with bribery in relation to the accident.

The company had sought to “expedite construction progress” on the expansion project in September, previous statements on its website showed.

Industrial accidents are relatively common in China, which has a dire workplace safety record.

Official figures show 66,182 people were killed in such accidents in 2015. – Rappler.com