BEIJING, Aug. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- A total of 1,144 people died in traffic accidents, accidents at workplace and fires in the national capital in the first eight months this year ending Aug. 20, the Beijing Production Safety Bureau announced Tuesday.

    According to the bureau's statistics, the death toll was 26 more than that during the same 2003 period. Li Jianwei, deputy director of the bureau, said although much effort has been made toenhance safety measures, inspections and precautions, the production safety risks in Beijing remain high and the accident-prone situation has not been brought under effective control.

    Of the total deaths, 974 were killed in traffic tragedies, 43 in fires and 127 others in workplace accidents. The statistics show that of the total deaths at workplaces, 65 lost lives at construction sites, or more than 50 percent, 26 at coal mines, or 20 percent, and 13 got killed in mishaps at industrial enterprises.

    In last June alone, Beijing reported two big accidents. One wasthe cave-in at an outskirtan coal mine on June 6 that claimed 10 lives, and another was the big fire at an office building on June 9 that killed nine workers doing indoor decoration.

    It is expected that the Beijing regulations of production safety, a piece of local legislation effective on Wednesday with aim to reduce production accidents, will play a major role in checking the rising trend in accidents in the Chinese capital, said Li. Enditem