BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's top work safety official said here Friday that 91,172 people were killed in 413,752 traffic and work-related accidents last year.

The number of deaths was down 10.2 percent from 2007 and that of accidents was down 18.3 percent as the country stepped up efforts to ensure work safety.

Luo Lin, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said the 2008 death toll fell below 100,000 for the first time since 1995 as work safety conditions improved in various sectors, including coal mines.

Fatalities from coal mine accidents fell 15.1 percent and deaths from road accidents dropped 10 percent, Luo said, without providing the specific figures.

Figures released by the Ministry of Public Security on Jan. 4 showed that 73,484 people were killed in 265,204 road accidents last year. Death toll from coal mine accidents in 2007 was 3,786, according to the work safety agency.

Luo told the annual national work safety conference that the agency reported 168 accident cover-ups and punished 3,488 people responsible for the accidents last year.

The agency will launch more safety awareness campaigns and crack-downs on illegal production to achieve continuing declines in work-related deaths this year, the official said.

He added the agency will also check the coal mine industry and other sectors for safety loopholes and improve mechanisms to boost long-term work safety supervision.