Special equipment kills 12 in Aug.

Accidents involving special equipment such as elevators and boilers claimed 12 lives and injured 14 people in China in August, official data showed on Monday.

In August last year, 10 were killed and another 10 were injured, said Chen Jing, a spokeswoman for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), at a press conference.

The casualties were incurred in a total of 20 accidents, compared to 13 in the same month last year, she said. Eight of the accidents involved elevators and three boilers.

The other accidents involved pressure pipelines, cranes, motor vehicles in factories or construction sites, and large-scale recreation facilities.

Chen attributed the increasing accidents to a lack of safety awareness, improper use of equipment and slack security management at work sites.

The AQSIQ has asked local authorities to strengthen checks on special equipment to ensure work safety.