State Council oversees Dalian fishing boat incident probe

The Work Safety Committee of the State Council has taken over direct oversight of the investigation into a fishing vessel capsizing incident that left 10 people missing off the coast of Dalian, Liaoning province, CCTV News reported on Friday.

The serious work safety accident, involving the vessel "Liao Sui Yu 35261", occurred on Oct 18 near Changxing Island in Dalian.

The committee has notified the Liaoning provincial government to conduct a thorough investigation led by provincial government leaders.

According to the notification issued on Thursday, investigators must determine the cause of the incident and clarify accountability, including potential responsibility of the vessel owner and operator as well as relevant government departments responsible for fisheries management and maritime safety.

A special team from the committee will monitor the entire investigation process, with a focus on evaluating whether Liaoning's fishery authorities properly fulfilled their safety supervision duties.

Findings will be submitted to the provincial disciplinary agency.

The draft investigation report will be submitted to the committee for review before the case is closed, according to the notification, adding that the final report will be approved and publicly released by Liaoning province.