Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited those who were injured in Friday’s oil pipeline blast in eastern coastal city Qingdao. The explosion killed 52 and 11 people are still missing. The president also stressed the importance of taking safety precautions to prevent similar accidents in the future.

President Xi Jinping has closely followed the rescue work and voiced his deep concerns for the victims, their families and the injured.

Upon his arrival in Qingdao, the president visited the injured in hospital. He urged the doctors and hospital staff to spare no effort in treating the patients.

"Relentless efforts should be made to treat the injured, at the same time the hospital should make arrangements as it could take a long time to treat the patients. I want to convey thanks to the whole medical staff who have taken part in the rescue operation." said Xi Jinping, Chinese President.

President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, saying the government will do everything possible to help them get through the difficulties.

After listening to reports on the rescue operations, President Xi Jinping said the investigation into the blasts must speed up, and those responsible must be held accountable in accordance with laws. He stressed that people’s lives and safety must always be put first in safe development.

Xi Jinping said all enterprises must meet health and safety requirements. They should invest enough resources in training, management, and emergency response systems. Major state owned enterprises should lead by example in this regard, and local authorities must ensure enterprises within its jurisdictions comply with rigorous regulations on production safety. He added that governments at all levels should also strengthen safety inspections to prevent similar accidents in the future.

President Xi Jinping further stressed the importance of preventive measures. Special attention should be given in inspections to identify potential safety hazards, in particular underground pipeline networks.

He called for setting up a responsibility mechanism under which inspectors will be accountable for their inspections.

Xi Jinping said various industries across the country should draw lessons from this accident, strengthen regulation on production safety, and put in place preventive measures.

The president lastly emphasized, that going into winter, the country must pay even more attention to safety to prevent major accidents.

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