China's workplace safety record for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) improved in 2015, with a drop in accidents and fatalities, the work safety watchdog said Tuesday.
The number of production accidents reported by SOEs fell 18.4 percent year on year to 217 last year. The accidents involved 293 fatalities, down 25.1 percent year on year, said Yang Huanning, head of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).
High-risk industries such as coal, chemical engineering and aviation posted better work safety records in 2015 than before, Yang said.
In the January-May period of 2016, the number of accidents nationwide fell 11.4 percent year on year, with the death toll dropping 14.1 percent.
However, the number of catastrophe accidents related to coal mines, fireworks, fisheries and sea transportation rose, with five major coal mine accidents, up from one over the same period last year.
The data shows that there is still room for improvement, Yang said.
Local governments should pay more attention to workplace health and safety, with priority given to construction sites, the metallurgy industry, electronic equipment manufacturing and chemical product manufacturing, according to a statement released by SAWS last month.
