Police detain eight employees of China Gas unit after deadly pipeline blast

China Gas Holdings

18/06/2021 04:08

BEIJING, June 18 (Reuters) - Eight employees at a China Gas
Holdings  0384.HK  unit have been detained by local police
following a fatal gas pipeline explosion on Sunday, according to
a statement by the Shiyan city government.
    The blast, which killed 25 people and injured 138, occurred
at a residential community and destroyed a food market building.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2NV02B
    Shares in Hong Kong-listed China Gas plunged 9.7% on Friday.
    The unit, Shiyan Dongfeng Zhongran City Gas Development Co,
is one of the gas suppliers for the city which is located in
Hubei province.
    "The safety management system at the company was not
rigorous...and the company did not strictly comply with the
rules of pipeline inspections. There were serious faults in the
operation of related facilities," the statement said, adding
that the incident continues to be investigated.
    China Gas did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.

 (Reporting by Muyu Xu and Dominique Patton; Editing by Edwina
Gibbs)
 ((muyu.xu@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 56692117;))