Chinese new year fireworks responsible for 35 deaths

Feb 20, 2010, 10:40 GMT

Beijing - The Chinese tradition of setting off fireworks for the lunar new year holiday has left 35 people dead and caused millions of dollars of damage this year, state media said Saturday.

A week into the traditional 15-day holiday, 7,480 fires have already been recorded with losses amounting to 28.5 million yuan (4.17 million dollars), the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Ministry of Public Security figures.

Beijing alone saw 347 fireworks-related injuries reported in the first five days of the holiday, according to the state-run China Daily.

Nationwide, there were 35 fatalities in the first week, the report said, but that was half the number from the previous new year season.

In Hebei province, the last standing tower of a 1,600-year-old Zhengding city gate was destroyed in a blaze ignited by fireworks on Thursday night.

It was a reminder of a firework-ignited blaze last new year which destroyed part of Beijing's new television complex, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas at an estimated cost of 24 million dollars.

Safety concerns saw fireworks banned in the capital for 13 years from 1993, but the ban was lifted in 2005 due to public pressure, the newspaper said.