During the first eight months of the year, there were 4,743 accidents in Shanghai, a decrease of 26.1 percent from a year earlier, officials said yesterday at a national teleconference.

The city death toll, including traffic, fire, industrial, mining and other accidents, is 954 people, which is a decrease of 5.64 percent from last year.

"But the city still faces heavy pressure in production safety, as 116 bus stops, 98 underground tunnels, six river-crossing projects, five highways, a renovation project in the Bund area and the Hongqiao transport hub are under construction at the same time," said city Vice Mayor Shen Jun.

Some accidents had prompted a massive public response this year, Shen said.

Two 600-ton gantry cranes collapsed at the Hudong Zhonghua shipbuilding plant and left three people dead and another two injured in May.

Two months later three firefighters died at a huge factory blaze in a plastic-packaging factory in Fengxian District.

The leak at Shanghai Pesticide Plant on September 15, in which 300 kilograms of the liquid herbicide Anilofos escaped, underlined the need for vigilance, said Shen.

The city's environmental protection bureau arrived at the factory to investigate the source of the pungent fumes, but was told the factory wasn't operational that night.

The factory admitted their error when the authorities checked again 18 hours later.

Zhang Dejiang, China's vice prime minister, said authorities "must curb the incessant severe accidents."

(Shanghai Daily September 25, 2008)