Workplace accidents killed 48,504 people nationwide in the last five months, a drop of 7.8 per cent from the same period last year, the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) revealed Tuesday in Beijing.

A total of 385,000 accidents were reported from across the country between January and May this year, a drop of 13.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

However, the work safety situation remains far from satisfactory as serious accidents with a death toll of more than 10 people continue to take place, said Wang Xianzheng, SAWS director at a televised conference yesterday.

Out of these accidents, 58 alone claimed 1,038 lives, he said.

To curb the serious situation, Wang urged all departments and sectors to fully implement the Work Safety Law which took effect on November 1.

Six ministerial departments have decided to launch a month-long campaign to publicize work safety knowledge among the people and to further improve workplace safety.

Vice-Premier Huang Ju said last week that the ongoing campaign should involve the mass of the people and there should be more supervision of workplace safety.

Work safety departments at all levels have been asked to conduct supervision and spot checks on key industries - such as coal mines, dangerous chemical products and road traffic - and key enterprises, he said.

Another important task is to establish the work safety responsibility system in enterprises and to promote work safety systems, the official said.

Starting from early June, the State Council has dispatched eight panels around the nation to strengthen workplace supervision in different sectors and regions, officials said.

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