BEIJING—Eleven workers were killed and two seriously injured on April 25 when an elevator at a construction site in northern China fell due to snapped cable, state media reported.
The Voice of China radio said the accident, the latest in a series of deadly industrial incidents, occurred at around 8 a.m. in Hengshui City, Hebei Province. It didn’t say how far the elevator fell.
Public anger over safety standards has grown in China over industrial accidents. Recent months have been particularly deadly for Chinese workers, underscoring shoddy enforcement of safety regulations and a desire by management to cut corners as the economy slows.
Despite repeated government pledges to tighten safety, disasters have hit chemical plants in particular.
In March, 78 people were killed in a blast at a chemical plant in the eastern city of Yancheng that had numerous safety violations, making it one of China’s worst industrial accidents in recent years.
The explosion at the plant owned by Tianjiayi Chemical Company caused a 2.2 magnitude earthquake, severely damaged more than a dozen neighboring buildings, and released contaminants into the air and water, sparking safety concerns in the area.
The company—which produces more than 30 organic chemical compounds, some highly flammable—has been cited and fined for work safety violations in the past, the China Daily said.
Earlier, in November, at least 23 people were killed in an explosion outside a chemical plant owned by ChemChina subsidiary Hebei Shenghua Chemical Industry Co in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.
PVC producer Hebei Shenghua had leaked vinyl chloride during production, and it caught fire and caused a chain explosion that burned trucks and buildings, parent company ChemChina said.
Zhangjiakou, about 96 miles northwest of Beijing, is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympics along with the capital.
