China puts 31 under coercive measures for deadly accident

BEIJING -- China has put 31 people under criminal coercive measures for a construction platform collapse in East China's Jiangxi province that killed 73 and injured another two, authorities said Friday.

In China, criminal coercive measures may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention or arrest.

A State Council investigation concluded that the tragedy was a workplace safety accident caused by issues including lax supervision and the building company's failure to fulfill its work safety responsibilities, according to a report on the State Administration of Work Safety website.

On Nov. 24, 2016, a platform being constructed for a cooling tower at a power plant collapsed in Fengcheng, causing a direct economic loss of about 102 million yuan ($15.6 million).

Authorities have revoked the top-level contractor qualification and the work safety license of the company responsible, and handed out administrative penalties to other companies and people involved.

The State Council also asked local authorities and building companies to draw lessons from the accident, raise awareness about work safety and improve the management for construction safety, according to the report.