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Yuanyue Dang

Kandy Wong

Laura Zhou

At least 82 people have been killed in a blast at a coal mine in the central Chinese province of Shanxi, with reports earlier saying the death toll was higher.
State news agency Xinhua reported that the gas explosion happened at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Qinyuan county, about 520km (320 miles) southwest of Beijing, at around 7.30pm on Friday after the mine issued a carbon monoxide alert.
There were 247 workers underground at the time of the blast. As of Saturday afternoon, 128 survivors were being treated in hospital, including two who were in a critical condition, while 35 others were able to return home. Two were missing.
At a press conference late on Saturday, authorities in the city of Changzhi, which oversees the county, said at least 82 had died. Earlier in the day, both Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV said the figure was at least 90.
Xinhua said the reported figures were initially incorrect because the company did not have an accurate head count of the workers on duty.
One of the injured miners, Wang Yong, told state broadcaster CCTV that he had not heard any noise when the accident happened but he had seen a cloud of smoke and smelled sulphur.
“[It was] just like when explosives are detonated and I told everyone to run. As we were running, I saw people collapsing from the smoke and then I blacked out too,” Wang said.
He added that he woke up around an hour later and roused other miners before they made their way out of the mine together.
Doctors said that most of those who had been hospitalised were being treated for exposure to toxic gas and needed high-pressure oxygen therapy.
Qinyuan People’s Hospital has also assigned psychological counsellors to provide support to the survivors.
A medical worker told the media outlet Caixin that the main cause of death was suffocation from the fumes.
Another hospital worker told China Newsweek magazine: “Right now, the entire hospital is incredibly busy, with everyone rushing off their feet.”
The magazine reported that the scene of the accident had been locked down, meaning some villagers were unable to enter or leave their homes.
Citing an unnamed worker, the Beijing News said the mine operated on a three-shift rotation and the incident took place while the middle-shift miners were underground.


More than 400 rescuers were sent to the site, including seven specialist medical teams.
The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched 345 personnel from six mine emergency rescue teams, along with equipment, to the scene of the rescue operation.
Rescue workers said that the depth and steep gradient of the mine shaft made their task especially challenging because it was difficult to carry injured miners back to the surface, CCTV reported.
They were also worried about rising water levels near the site of the explosion, a possible sign that water pipes or the mine’s pumping systems may have been damaged in the blast.
A further problem was that the blueprints of the mine provided by the owners did not match the underground layout, forcing them to improvise a new rescue plan.
State media also reported that Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing and local officials were at the scene to direct the emergency response work.
Earlier reports had listed only eight dead, and the dramatic rise in the death toll has not been explained.


Executives from Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry, the company that ran the mine, have been detained, according to Xinhua.
Last year, the mine received two administrative penalties for safety violations, according to the business information platform Tianyancha.
The offences involved the failure of the emergency stop mechanism on a monorail inside the mine and the failure to provide proper support to areas where the roof was falling in.
The firm was established in 2010 and employed more than 1,700 people last year, according to the online news portal Jiemian.
According to the Changzhi municipal energy bureau, which oversees coal production in Qinyuan county, the coal mine has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes.
It is classified as a high-gas mine – which means that it contains dangerous levels of methane.
The accident is the deadliest coal mine disaster in over a decade. Although China has improved its safety record in recent years, there has still been a steady stream of fatalities.
In one of the worst incidents, 53 miners were killed at an opencast mine in Inner Mongolia’s Alxa left banner following a landslide in February 2023.
President Xi Jinping called for rescuers to “make every effort” and said the aftermath of the accident must be “properly handled”.
He said those responsible for the accident should be held to account, adding: “All regions and departments must learn from the lessons of the accident, remain vigilant regarding workplace safety, thoroughly investigate, rectify all types of risks and hidden dangers, and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and serious accidents.”
Xi also said it was the rainy season and called for effective flood prevention efforts.
Last weekend, heavy rainfall in Shimen county in Hunan caused at least seven deaths and affected more than 100,000 people. Another 14 are still missing, according to the local authorities.
Premier Li Qiang echoed Xi’s message, saying the cause of the accident should be investigated “as soon as possible” and those responsible should be held accountable.
He also urged the State Council’s safety office to remind local officials of their responsibilities to investigate accidents and “resolutely” prevent them from happening.
Among the world leaders offering their condolences were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Shanxi is China’s largest coal-producing province. Last month another accident in Luliang killed four miners.

Other fatal accidents in recent years include the deaths of seven people in a coal bunker collapse in Zhongyang, Shanxi, after workers tried to flush away a blockage in March 2024.
A subsequent investigation identified a series of safety failures and found that the number of people inside the bunker exceeded the permitted maximum. Six people were given criminal detentions and the company responsible was fined 4 million yuan (US$590,000).
The previous November, 11 people were killed following an explosion at the Shuangyang mine in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang that was caused by an illegal gas discharge and a number of other serious supervision failures. In the wake of the accident, 46 people were fined or given other disciplinary penalties.
In 2010, another explosion at a mine in Shanxi killed 17 people. The blast in Linfen was blamed on “illegal explosives” that were being stored near the miners’ dormitories.


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China

More than 100 survivors treated in hospital after the explosion in Shanxi and executives from the mining firm have been detained


More than 100 survivors treated in hospital after the explosion in Shanxi and executives from the mining firm have been detained.


Zhang Guoqing

Xi Jinping

Li Qiang

82 killed in China’s worst coal mine accident for more than a decade

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}More than 100 survivors treated in hospital after the explosion in Shanxi and executives from the mining firm have been detained

More than 100 survivors treated in hospital after the explosion in Shanxi and executives from the mining firm have been detained