World IN BRIEF : CHINA : Lax Welders Blamed as Blaze Kills 79
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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A fire that tore through a Chinese department store and killed 79 people was blamed on lax workers doing electrical welding. The blaze ripped through the three-story Linxi department store in the northeastern city of Tangshan during peak shopping hours Sunday afternoon. It ranked as one of the deadliest fires to strike China in recent years. Safety standards have become the object of increasing concern as China embarks on a nationwide construction craze.
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