Chinese authorities have confirmed that an expressway viaduct collapse in Henan province that left 10 dead and 11 injured was a serious accident caused by multiple human errors.

Those suspected of being involved in the accident have been taken into police custody, according to a statement issued by the investigation team on Saturday.

An explosion occurred on a truck carrying fireworks on the expressway linking Lianyungang City in Jiangsu province and Horgos Port, on the Kazakh border in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, in the country's far west.

An initial investigation at the scene found that the explosion caused the collapse.

According to the investigators, the fireworks were illegally manufactured by a factory in Shaanxi province.

The transportation packaging, which consisted of just plastic sacks, was also not in line with relevant regulations, the team said.

Moreover, the fireworks manufacturer hired an unqualified contractor in Hebei province to transport the illegal products without checking the contractor's qualifications and licenses or that of the contractor's drivers.

The items were covered up as ordinary goods and were not carried in special vehicles designed to transport fireworks, the team said.

Employees of both the manufacturer and the transport enterprise are suspected of breaking the law.

A joint work team of officials from local authorities as well as Wang Dexue, vice-head of the State Administration of Work Safety, Huang Ming, vice-minister of public security, and Feng Zhenglin, vice-minister of transport, was sent to the scene to direct rescue work and the investigation.

The officials have vowed serious punishments for violations involving hazardous products and called for resolute efforts to prevent similar accidents.

Rescue work is ongoing at the scene of the collapse.

(China Daily 02/03/2013 page2)