More than 70pc of incidents blamed on dangerous practices
Workplace accidents on the mainland claimed a staggering 15 lives an hour during the first three-quarters of the year, State Administration of Work Safety statistics show.
The total of 98,809 deaths in the first nine months of the year represented a minimal reduction - of 0.25 per cent - compared with the same period last year. However, that figure includes more than 77,000 deaths in road accidents, because China considers its roads part of its industrial system.
The only substantial change was in the total number of accidents, which dropped by almost 17 per cent to 607,429 - indicating there has been an increase in the number of mass fatalities in accidents.
The administration, the national work-safety watchdog, said the number of accidents involving up to nine people increased by more than 5 per cent. Such accidents killed more than 8,000 workers.
Ninety-seven accidents claimed the lives of 10 or more people, which was down from last year. However, 1,595 people still lost their lives in such accidents.
More than 70 per cent of all reported incidents were caused by unsafe work practices, said Sun Huashan , deputy head of the administration.
