Negligence blamed in deadly laboratory explosion on campus

Serious dereliction of duty led to the deaths of three students in a laboratory explosion at Beijing Jiaotong University in December, the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau said on Wednesday.

A joint investigation involving multiple government departments found that the students purchased and stored dangerous chemicals and carried out risky experiments in violation of regulations. University personnel also failed to oversee and manage the safety of laboratories and scientific research projects, investigators said.

On Dec 26, students from the urban planning and environmental engineering department were doing sewage treatment experiments in a laboratory building on the university's eastern campus. The explosion killed three students who were taking part.