Authorities are investigating after an explosion at a Chinese coal mine killed at least 82 people – nationwide
Authorities in northern China are investigating a coal miner, with the focus being on safety lapses, as rescuers search for those missing from the worst fire in recent years that killed 82 people.
Rescue officials revised the death toll in an update on Saturday night after earlier saying at least 90 people had died.
Officials blamed “chaotic” scenes behind the results and inaccurate information provided by the mine operator on the revised death toll.
Officials say at least 82 people have died, more than 120 have been hospitalized and two are reported missing after a massive gas explosion Friday evening tore through the Liushenyu coal mine in northern Shanxi province, according to the Associated Press.
Hundreds of paramedics and paramedics were sent to help with rescue efforts and rescuers took turns descending the mine shaft, facing obstacles including flooded tubes, the Associated Press reported.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, rescuers deployed mine-detection robots underground, equipped with gas sensors and infrared cameras, the BBC reported.
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The robots were used by rescuers who used them to enter inaccessible areas to detect signs of life and collect information, according to the source.
Chinese President Xi Jinping “stressed the need to make every effort to treat the injured, organize search and rescue operations scientifically and properly manage the results,” the New York Times reported.
He also called for a thorough investigation and accountability for those involved.
The cause of the explosion was being investigated, the Associated Press reported, and the rescue operation was ongoing, as hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel were sent to the area. Of the injured, many were injured by poisonous gas.
Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group, the company involved in the coal mine explosion, was found to have “severely violated the rules,” according to local media.
The Associated Press reported that plans provided by the Liushenyu coal mine did not match the actual structure, hampering rescue efforts.
Local authorities have also announced a “comprehensive, blanket” inspection of the coal mining sector that will include inspections of coal mine gas pipelines, air, safety monitoring systems and underground structures, according to the Associated Press.
In 2024, Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group was listed among 1,128 mines that had been cited as “major safety hazards” by China’s National Mine Safety Administration.
The Liushenyu coal mine, where Friday’s explosion occurred, is also slated for peak gas levels in 2024.
“Departments responsible for mine safety in the province must encourage the most affected coal mines to use regional disaster management methods,” said the National Mine Safety Administration in a statement when it released the list.
Friday’s explosion appears to be the worst mining accident in years.
In February 2023, 53 people died after falling into an open pit mine in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region. In November 2009, a mine explosion in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province killed 108, according to state media.
— via files from The Associated Press
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