A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China killed at least 82 people, state media said on Saturday, in one of the country’s most devastating industrial disasters in recent years.
According to Xinhua, the blast occurred around 7:29 p.m. (1129 GMT) on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province.
According to Xinhua, a total of 247 personnel were underground at the time, with the majority having been hauled to the surface by Saturday morning.
However, the agency eventually reported that at least 82 people had died, and that rescuers were still looking “intensively” for nine people who remained missing.
State broadcaster CCTV captured footage of helmeted rescuers carrying stretchers at the scene, with ambulances visible in the background.
President Xi Jinping ordered “all-out efforts” to treat the injured and demanded that the tragedy be thoroughly investigated, according to Xinhua.
He “emphasized that all regions and departments must draw lessons from this accident, remain constantly vigilant regarding workplace safety… and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and catastrophic accidents.”
A person “responsible for” the company involved in the explosion has been “placed under control in accordance with the law,” Xinhua said.
State media initially reported four deaths and hundreds trapped after levels of carbon monoxide—a highly poisonous, odorless gas—in the mine were discovered to have “exceeded limits.”
“Some of those stuck underground were in ‘critical condition,'” that report said.
The death toll in China’s coal-mining capital, Shanxi, increased sharply as the morning progressed.
While mine safety has improved in recent decades, accidents continue to occur in an industry with lax protocols and unclear regulations.
In 2023, a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in northern Inner Mongolia killed 53 people.
In 2009, an explosion in a mine in northeastern Heilongjiang province killed over 100 people.
Despite rapidly increasing renewable energy generation, China is the world’s leading coal consumer and greenhouse gas emitter.
