Major areas of firecracker production and cities lifting the ban on firecrackers reported good safety situation during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations which began on Saturday, the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said Sunday.

In its first Spring Festival without the ban on firecrackers 12 years later, Beijing saw a basically orderly situation as no firecracker-initiated fire accidents and no death were reported Saturday night.

However, some injures caused by fireworks could still be seen in hospitals in the capital.

In Beijing Tongren Hospital, which is famous for its ophthalmology, Doctor Song Weixian was busy on his seventh surgery caused by the explosion of firecrackers or fireworks on the Lunar New Year Eve.

Ill experiences, lack of special instrument and being drunk are the major reasons for injures caused by fireworks or firecrackers, he said.

According to statistics of the SAWS, 26 people were injured by firecrackers and had to stay in hospital for treatment on Saturday in Beijing.

In central China's Henan Province, 16 people were killed and some people were injured in a firecracker storehouse explosion Sunday afternoon, source with the local government said.

The explosion occurred between 4 and 5 PM Sunday in Linqi Town of Linzhou City, according to a local official in charge of work safety.

The storehouse was ignited by fireworks, the official said, noting that 16 people attending a temple fair nearby were killed on the spot. But the number of the injured was not available.

In southwestern Municipality of Chongqing, local fire departments saw record fire cases at Saturday night.

According to statistics, from 4 PM Saturday to 6:00 AM Sunday, there were 243 fire cases including 191 cases caused by firecrackers in the city, which also removed the ban on firecrackers this year.

No accidents caused by fireworks or firecrackers were reported in such cities of Xi'an, Jinan, Huhhot and Nanjing which also lifted firecracker ban, said the SAWS.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2006)