China Gas board members take US$3 million remuneration cut to compensate victims of deadly Hubai gas pipe explosion

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The explosion on June 13 in Shiyan city, Hubei province, where China Gas operates a joint venture with car giant Dongfeng Motor, killed at least 25 and injured 138 more

Government investigators determined that the joint venture was directly responsible, while China Resources Land (Wuhan) Property Management and its affiliate Runlian Property were also to blame

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Rescue workers search for survivors in the aftermath of the gas explosion in Shiyan city in central China's Hubei Province on June 13, 2021. Photo: AP

Eric Ng

Published: 3:30pm, 26 Jul 2021Updated: 10:14pm, 26 Jul 2021

The board of China Gas Holdings has announced it will give up nearly half of its members’ earnings to compensate victims and their families after a deadly gas explosion in Hubei province last month caused by the rupturing of corroded gas pipes.

The board, consisting of five executive directors, two others with non-executive roles and four independent non-executive directors, together agreed to forgo a total of HK$22.5 million (US$2.93 million) from their remuneration. The sum will be distributed instead to the casualties and their families, China Gas said in a filing to Hong Kong’s stock exchange late on Sunday.

The board members collectively earned HK$50.8 million from the company in the 12 months to March 31.

The China Gas Charity Foundation, to which the company is one of the main contributors, will donate an additional HK$10 million to them as compensation, it added.

“The direct cause of the incident was the severe corrosion and rupture of the natural gas medium-pressure steel pipes,” it said. “The leaked natural gas gathered in the confined space in the river channel underneath the buildings, and caused an explosion when coming into contact with the spark in fume exhaust pipe of catering outlets.”

The explosion on June 13 in Shiyan city, where China Gas operates a joint venture with car giant Dongfeng Motor Corporation, killed at least 25 people and injured 138 more, according to the Hubei provincial government.