Stricter safety measures stressed amid heavy travel

Government organizations responsible for safety emphasized that they would enforce stricter precautionary moves to reduce safety hazards during the eight-day National Day holiday following fatal highway and fire incidents.

The State Council's Safety Production Committee Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video conference on Sunday to say that road and water transportation safety risks as well as hazards at scenic sites remain high due to high volumes of travelers.

It is also said that more inspections are to be carried out to prevent hazards.

Some 14 working groups have been dispatched nationwide to carry out inspections and random checks at high-risk venues, including tourism sites and transportation hubs.

By Saturday, more than 90 hazards had been found and corrected, including illegal storage of chemicals and a lack of fire extinguishers at some scenic sites.

Sunday's video conference was the third held by the two government bodies to ensure holiday safety since Sept 27.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival, which fell on Oct 1, coincides with the National Day, extending the weeklong holiday to Oct 8.

Many people have taken the opportunity to travel since it is the first national holiday since the country resumed transprovincial group tours as the COVID-19 pandemic came under effective control in China.

During the first four days of the eight-day holiday, 425 million domestic tourist visits, 191 million road trips and 4.62 million water trips were made, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Transportation.

In addition, since the travel rush began on Sept 30, more than 10 million railway trips have been made daily, according to the national railway operator China Railway Corp.

With the large volume of travel, there have been some fatal accidents.

On Monday, six people were confirmed dead and 14 injured after a truck plowed into a wet market in Minxian county in Gansu province. Local police said five of the injured are in serious condition. The driver is in police custody, and the cause of the incident is under investigation.

On Sunday, 18 people were killed and one injured in a car crash on a highway near Fuyu, Jilin province.

According to a preliminary investigation by local police, a truck hit the back of a tractor and slid into the incoming lane, crashing into a car heading in the opposite direction. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

On Saturday, 12 people were rescued, with one still missing, after a fishing vessel accident in Guangdong province.

On Thursday, a fire engulfed an exhibition hall of snow sculptures, killing 13 and injuring 15 at a scenic site in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.