BEIJING, April 12 -- China saw fewer production safety accidents in the first quarter of this year, the Ministry of Emergency Management said Friday.

The country reported 3,570 production safety accidents and 3,359 related deaths in the first three months of 2024, registering year-on-year drops of 36.9 percent and 27.9 percent, respectively, the ministry revealed at a press conference.

Meanwhile, China's direct economic losses caused by natural disasters totaled 23.76 billion yuan (about 3.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, data from the ministry showed.

Natural disasters recorded in the first quarter this year were mainly the likes of cryogenic temperatures, rains, snows, earthquakes and geological disasters, said the ministry.

Natural disasters in the first quarter killed 79 people, displaced 111,000, and affected nearly 10.38 million, according to the ministry.

Some 66,000 houses were destroyed or damaged by natural disasters in China in the first three months of 2024, said the ministry, adding that natural disasters had affected 994,300 hectares of crops.