Coal mine explosion in China kills 90 people, state media say

A gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, Shanxi province, occurred Friday evening and killed at least 90 workers. About 247 workers were on duty at the time. Nine miners were still unaccounted for as of Saturday afternoon, and more than 120 people were hospitalized. Many injured workers were hurt by toxic gas. Rescue operations continued with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out effort to rescue the missing and called for proper handling of the aftermath, a thorough investigation, and accountability under the law. The company’s responsible persons were placed under control. The mine had been listed as disaster-prone in 2024 due to high gas content.

"A gas explosion at a coal mine in China's northern Shanxi province killed at least 90 people, state media said on Saturday, in the country's deadliest mining accident in recent years. Official news agency Xinhua said the accident at Changzhi city's Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening. Around 247 workers were on duty at the time. Nine miners were still unaccounted for as of Saturday afternoon, Xinhua said, and more than 120 people were hospitalized."

"The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua reported, and rescue work is pressing on with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to state media CCTV. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, reported Xinhua."

"Xi also called for the "proper handling of the aftermath of the accident and urged a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance with the law," the news agency said. Xinhua later reported that the "persons responsible for the company involved in the mine accident have been placed under control," citing the local emergency management bureau."

"The coal mine, operated by the Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons, was placed on a national list of disaster-prone coal mines by China's National Mine Safety Administration in 2024 for having "high gas content." Shanxi province is known as China's main coal mining province. With a size larger than Greece and a population of around 34 million, the province's hundreds of thousands of miners dug 1.3 billion tons of coal last year, or almost a third of China's total."

Read at ABC7 Chicago