CNPC provides aid to gas blowout stricken area
( 2004-01-09 21:21) (Xinhua)
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has launched an aid project
to victims of last month's gas blowout in Kaixian County of southwest
China's Chongqing Municipality, the company announced Friday.
CNPC staff members donated a total of 11.65 million yuan (1.4 million
US dollars) to the victims, helping them to resume their normal life and
work and hoping to bring them a happier spring festival, said Su Shulin,
deputy general manager of CNPC.
Though some loss was unredeemable in the accident, CNPC would try its
best to help the victims and show its goodwill toward them, Su said.
After the disaster, the local government and CPC committee did much
work to cure the wounded and settle the victims, contributing to the orderly
life and production in the area, said Jiang Youyi, head of Kaixian County.
Jiang said that CNPC had invested 8 million yuan (967,000 US dollars)
in building roads for the county, and a number of schools, hospitals, water
supply systems and rest homes would be built with CNPC's financial assistance.
The death toll reached 243 in the blowout. CNPC together with the local
government has signed 241 compensation agreements with relatives of
victims so far, of which 227 agreements worth 34.6 million yuan (4.2
million US dollars) had been paid, said Jiang.
The blowout took place at 10 p.m. on Dec. 23 at Chuandongbei gas field
in Kaixian County when a CNPC well burst suddenly and released a high
concentration of natural gas and sulfurated hydrogen.
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