China mine blast: Search and investigation continue

A gas explosion in the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi killed at least 82 people and left two missing. On Friday, 247 miners were reported underground when the blast occurred, and 128 were taken to hospital. Rescue teams continued searching for the missing miners using a robot to test conditions in the shaft. Local officials accused the mine operator of serious breaches of security regulations, without specifying details. Reports indicated possible negligence, including miners buying protective helmets with their own money and many entering without proper registration or tracking devices. Officials also cited chaotic scenes and inaccurate information from the operator, while CCTV reported that mine blueprints did not match the actual layout, complicating rescue work. Beijing ordered a nationwide crackdown on illegal activities such as falsifying security data and inaccurate tracking.

"Authorities in China on Sunday were still searching for two missing people and investigating a coal mine operator, after at least 82 people were killed in a gas explosion in a mine shaft on Friday. A total of 247 miners were reportedly underground at the time of the blast at the Liushenyu coal mine in the northern inland province of Shanxi, with 128 subsequently taken to hospital. While rescue teams continued to search for two missing people with the help of a robot which was sent into the shaft to test conditions, local officials accused the mine operator of "serious breaches" of security regulations."

"Some miners told the AFP news agency that they had had to purchase protective helmets with their own money while another report suggested that over half of the miners entered the mine shaft on Friday without having been properly registered with face recognition or issued with requisite tracking devices. Officials have blamed "chaotic" scenes and "inaccurate" information provided by the mine operator for an initial death toll of 90, which had to be revised downwards, while state broadcaster CCTV reported that blueprints provided by the coal mine did not match the actual layout, hampering rescue efforts."

"Xinhua said one "responsible person" had been "placed under control" while the government in Beijing ordered a nationwide clampdown on "illegal and illicit activities" such as the falsification of security data, inaccurate tracking of miners' activities and illegal"

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