At least 90 people have been killed following a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China, state media reported. The incident occurred at the Liushenyu Coal Mine, operated by the Tongzhou Group, located in Shanxi Province. Officials confirmed that 247 miners were on duty underground when the blast took place at 19:29 local time on Friday. Hundreds of emergency responders arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion to initiate a large-scale rescue operation.More than 100 workers have been rushed to local hospitals.
State media broadcasts showed paramedics carrying survivors on stretchers into a fleet of waiting ambulances. China`s Ministry of Emergency Management announced it had deployed 345 rescue personnel from six specialized teams to assist with the recovery efforts. Preliminary reports indicate that carbon monoxide levels inside the facility exceeded safe limits before the blast. Authorities have already detained several top officials responsible for managing the mine while a formal investigation gets underway.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a directive calling for immediate, exhaustive measures to treat the injured and locate remaining survivors. He ordered local government bodies to thoroughly investigate the root cause of the accident and hold negligent parties strictly accountable. Shanxi Province remains the core hub of the country`s coal output, though it historically ranks among China`s less developed economic regions.
While Beijing has implemented stricter regulatory controls over the past two decades, fatal mining accidents persist across the country. In 2023, an open-pit mine collapse in the neighboring Inner Mongolia region left 53 workers dead. Previously, a major explosion in Heilongjiang Province killed over 100 people back in 2009. China continues to be the global leader in coal consumption despite expanding its green energy infrastructure at an unprecedented rate.
