Dozens punished for fire in Henan

Dozens of individuals involved in a fire at Henan University in May have been punished, local authorities announced on Saturday.

The blaze, which engulfed the university's grand auditorium, occurred on May 2 while the building was undergoing repairs. The auditorium, situated in the university's oldest campus in Kaifeng, Henan province, was constructed in 1934 and stood as a significant landmark.

The local fire rescue department recently released its investigative report, revealing that the fire covered an area of 3,410 square meters, resulting in a direct economic loss of 27.43 million yuan ($3.79 million).

According to the investigation, it was caused by safety management deficiencies during renovation efforts. The investigation found that the renovations crew engaged in illegal open flame operations; the supervisory unit neglected its duties; the design unit violated regulations; and local Party committees, governments, relevant functional departments and units failed to fulfill their responsibilities properly.

The accident investigation team determined that the direct cause of the incident was the improper use of a liquefied petroleum gas spray gun by workers as they were waterproofing the roof. The high-temperature flame ignited the wooden roof below the waterproofing material, leading to the fire.

Sixteen individuals, including personnel from the construction and supervision teams, are suspected of committing crimes and have been investigated and transferred to judicial authorities for legal proceedings by public security organs. Administrative penalties have been imposed by relevant departments at Henan University on the design, construction, supervision and testing units involved in the auditorium renovation project for their illegal actions, according to authorities.

The disciplinary and supervisory authorities have taken serious measures against 32 officials from local Party committees, governments, relevant functional departments and units for their dereliction of duty in the accident.

Among them, a warning was given to Song Zhenghui, vice-governor of Henan; 26 people, including Mao Jie, director of the provincial department of education, received disciplinary punishment; and five individuals suspected of committing crimes — including Qi Tao, deputy general manager of Henan University's logistics group — have been handed over to judicial authorities for legal processing.