Recently, a subsidiary of the Longbai Group in Xiangyang, suffered an accident in its sulfuric acid production line, resulting in at least 5 fatalities and 1 person injured.
On September 8, the Longbai Group issued a statement stating that its subsidiary, Longbai Xiangyang Titanium Co., Ltd., had an accident in its sulfuric acid production line on the evening of September 2, which led to 2 deaths. Three others were sent for medical treatment but unfortunately succumbed to their injuries. Additionally, one person is reported to be “currently in stable condition after surgical treatment.”
On September 5, Longbai Xiangyang was ordered to “temporarily cease production for rectification” and is currently undergoing an orderly shutdown. Operations at other subsidiary companies remain unaffected.
According to staff from the Longbai Group, the 5 deceased individuals were frontline production workers. The cause of the accident is pending further investigation. The group has formed relevant teams to investigate the incident on-site.
The incident has sparked attention online, with netizens expressing their lament, “This is too tragic.” “To be honest, production safety is often just lip service. Many companies prioritize efficiency over safety, and employees sometimes take risks due to tight production schedules.” “This is typical of large companies. If it were a small enterprise, the owner would have been arrested, business disrupted, but here they go on unaffected.”
Some netizens criticize, “Today, safety accident reports by listed companies are often just a formality, meant to reassure investors that everything is under control, and it won’t affect profits. Sigh…” “When someone dies, the focus is on ensuring it won’t impact production, but no mention of compensation. It’s quite irresponsible.”
Under public pressure, on September 9, according to reports from Caixin, the Xiangyang City Emergency Management Bureau stated that the safety incident at Xiangyang Longbai Titanium has been escalated for investigation, and now the Hubei Province Emergency Management Department is involved in the probe.
Public records show that the Longbai Group’s main business is the production and sale of titanium dioxide, making it one of the major titanium dioxide producers in the country.
On the Longbai Group’s official website, it is noted that the company is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with a main production capacity of 1.51 million tons per year for titanium dioxide and 80,000 tons per year for sponge titanium. The group has nearly 20,000 employees.