BEIJING, Nov 14: Eight people have been sentenced in China, including one to death, for their involvement in a deadly expressway explosion that killed 14 people in the country’s central Henan Province two years ago.
The blast in 2013 happened when a truck loaded with 12.365 tonnes of illegal fireworks exploded on the Yichang Viaduct on the Lianhuo Expressway.
The explosion led to the collapse of the 30-metre-high expressway viaduct in Mianchi County, Sanmenxia City, about 193 kilometres west of the provincial capital of Zhengzhou.
Fourteen people, including the truck driver, were killed and another were eight injured in the accident.
Zhang Genlin, Xue Yunfang and Zhai Gongchang were convicted of illegally manufacturing explosives and counterfeiting registered trademarks.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Sanmenxia City in Henan Province sentenced Zhang to death sentence with a two-year reprieve and fined him 200,000 yuan (USD 31,380) while Xue received life imprisonment and was fined 200,000 yuan.
Zhai was given a 14-year jail term and was fined 100,000 yuan.
Besides one exempt from criminal punishment, the other four defendants were given jail terms ranging from three years with a three-year reprieve to three and a half years for causing an accident with dangerous substances and counterfeiting registered trademarks, according to the court.
Investigations found that the fireworks were produced by Pucheng Hongsheng Fireworks Ltd, a fireworks producer registered in Pucheng County of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
Zhang Genlin is the owner of the firm, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. (PTI)
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