A court in China has jailed six people over an explosion at a fireworks factory that killed 40 in the southern province of Guangdong last year, the Xinhuanews agency reported today.
The six, jailed for up to five years by the Intermediate People's Court of Jiangmen city, included the manager and deputy manager of the factory and four other employees, the agency said.
Government investigators blamed the accident on an employee who produced sparks while pounding iron nails inside the warehouse, which stored fireworks and explosive materials, it reported.
Over 130 people were injured by the blast, which damaged around 1,700 residential houses and 66 factories close to the site.
The factory, which had been run since 1993 by a Hong Kong-based fireworks firm, had a poor safety record, according to reports in state media. The reports spoke of numerous fires.
