Company offers cash 'to keep death toll secret'

Bereaved relatives of the victims of a gas pipeline leak in a Hebei province factory earlier this month were offered 250,000 yuan each ($36,000) to keep the death toll under wraps, State media reported yesterday.

Senior executives of Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Co Ltd in Wu'an admitted to covering up 14 deaths in the Jan 4 tragedy, which claimed 21 lives, local authorities said.

Nine workers were brought to the Wu'an Renci Hospital in a serious condition; six of them died, hospital president Ren Xianyuan told State broadcaster CCTV, adding that only one dead body was then left behind.