Report released on a fatal accident of 4 people poisoned and suffocated to death in a company in Chizhou, Anhui

On January 16th, the Anhui Provincial Emergency Management Department released the "Investigation Report on the Major Poisoning and Suffocation Accident of Anhui Xintai New Materials Co., Ltd. in Chizhou on October 27th". At around 20:12 on October 27, 2025, a major poisoning and suffocation accident occurred during the replacement of frozen salt water in the public engineering workshop of Anhui Xintai New Materials Co., Ltd., resulting in the deaths of 4 people and a direct economic loss of 6.0875 million yuan. The accident investigation team determined that the accident was a major production safety liability accident. The direct cause of the accident was that the employee Zhang from Anhui Xintai New Materials Co., Ltd. violated the safety management regulations for confined space operations, did not go through the approval procedures for confined space operations, did not take safety isolation measures, did not ventilate, did not conduct gas detection, and did not wear isolating respiratory protective equipment. He entered the accident frozen salt water tank for operation, which led to the accident due to inhaling high concentrations of nitrogen and other gases. Rescuers blindly carried out rescue operations without proper personal protective equipment, resulting in an increase in casualties. The investigation report shows that the chairman of Anhui Xintai New Materials Co., Ltd., the actual controller Zhao and two others have been taken coercive measures by the public security organs; problems and relevant materials regarding the performance of duties by local government and relevant department officials discovered during the accident investigation process have been transferred to the Anhui Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision for accountability in accordance with regulations, discipline, and law.