Good safety reported upon firecracker ban lift
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-30 08:26

Major areas of firecracker production and cities without the ban on firecrackers during the Spring Festival reported good safety situation in the Eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year which began on Sunday, the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said Sunday.

People get together to watch fireworks displayed for celebration. Beijing municipal authorities brews a stop to the 12-year-long ban on firecracker display during the Spring Festival in the city.[baidu]

In its first Spring Festival without the ban on firecrackers 12 years later, Beijing saw a basically orderly situation as no firecracker-initiated fire accidents and no death were reported Saturday night.

However, some injures caused by fireworks could still be seen in hospitals in the capital.

In Beijing Tongren Hospital, which is famous for its ophthalmology, Doctor Song Weixian was busy on his seventh surgery caused by the explosion of firecrackers or fireworks in the Lunar New Year Eve.

Ill experiences, lack of special instrument and being drunk are the major reasons for injures caused by fireworks or firecrackers, he said.

According to statistics of the SAWS, 26 people were injured by firecrackers and had to stay in hospital for treatment on Saturday in Beijing.

However, in China's southwestern Municipality of Chongqing, local fire departments saw record fire cases in the Eve of the Spring Festival.

According to statistics, from 4 p.m. Saturday to 6:00 a.m. Sunday, there were 243 fire cases including 191 cases caused by firecrackers in the city, which also removed the ban on firecrackers this year.

No accidents caused by fireworks or firecrackers were reported in such cities which lifted firecracker ban as Xi'an, Jinan, Huhhot and Nanjing, said the SAWS.