Forty-nine people have been sentenced to jail in connection with a massive explosion at a chemical storage facility in China, that killed at least 165 people in August 2015.
The sentenced included 25 government officials and 24 employees and managers of Ruihai Logistics, which owned the facility, state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday.
A string of explosions tore through warehouses storing hazardous chemicals on August 12 in the northern port city of Tianjin, leaving apocalyptic scenes of devastation.
The court said that the company ignored safety rules and violated municipal planning by illegally setting up a storage yard for hazardous materials.
Yu Xuewei, the company’s chairman, was also found guilty of bribery and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, a sentence that usually means life imprisonment.
“Management was chaotic, and safety problems persisted,” the court ruling said.
The officials were handed jail terms of between three to seven years for dereliction of duty, abuse of power and accepting bribes.