China’s worst coal mining blast in over a decade kills 90

By Simone McCarthy, Hira Humayun, Bo Gu, CNN

Beijing (CNN) — A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 90 people, according to state media, the country’s deadliest mining disaster in more than a decade.

Rescue efforts are still underway nearly a day after the blast took place, according to state broadcaster CCTV, with emergency teams descending into the Liushenyu coal mine to search for any workers trapped beneath the ground.

But their attempts have been complicated by the fact the underground map provided by the coal mining company and distributed among rescue teams does not match the actual underground condition, state-run Beijing News reported. This has meant rescuers have to search all the tunnels rather than targeting a specific location.

Underground workers are also required to carry a personal GPS tracker, Beijing News reported, but some workers did not have their device with them at the time of the explosion.

Nearly 250 people were working underground at the facility in Shanxi province when the explosion took place Friday evening. At least 201 people were evacuated as of Saturday morning, CCTV reported, adding later in the day that 123 were undergoing treatment in hospital.

It remains unclear if there are still workers unaccounted for.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping instructed Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing to attend the scene on Saturday evening, according to state media. Guoqing is believed to be guiding the emergency response operation at it continues.

Xi has called for an “all-out rescue” of the missing, state news agency Xinhua reported, saying he also urged a “thorough investigation” and “accountability” for the incident.

A crackdown on illegal mining activities, including falsification of safety monitoring, hidden operations and unclear reporting on the number of people going underground is also believed to be a priority for the country, according to CCTV.

Earlier, Xinhua reported that carbon monoxide levels “exceeded limits” inside the Liushenyu coal mine, which is located in the city of Changzhi in Qinyuan county.

Hundreds of personnel were involved in the underground rescue response, the county’s Emergency Management Bureau told CNN.

Contacted by CNN, a person answering the phone at the company operating the mine – Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry – said they were “not aware of the situation,” and ended the call.

State media on Saturday reported that the person in charge of the “involved enterprise” had been taken “under control measures according to law,” a phrase typically used to indicate a person has been detained.

The cause of the blast is under investigation, Xinhua reported.

One injured miner, Wang Yong, told CCTV that he realized something was wrong when he saw a burst of smoke and smelled sulfur “just like firecrackers.”

“I told people to run – while running, I saw people who had been choked and knocked down by the smoke, and then I fainted too,” Wang said. “Later, after lying there for about an hour or so, I woke … (and) then woke up the people next to me, and we left the mine together.”

The disaster is the latest in a long line of devastating incidents linked to coal mining in China and is believed to be the deadliest since a 2009 blast at a state-run mine in Heilongjiang province killed 108 people. The early 2000s saw multiple mining incidents with death tolls over 100.

Safety records have improved since then, alongside industry consolidation and tightened regulation, but tragedies continue to happen – typically followed by central government calls for more accountability and oversight.

In 2023, 53 workers were killed in a mine collapse in Inner Mongolia, state media reported. The following year, Beijing implemented new coal-mining regulations putting more burden on operators to conduct checks, and local officials to enhance supervision.

Coal is a major source of energy in China, accounting for more than half of the energy consumption of the world’s second-largest economy – and playing a critical role in its energy security.

Even as Beijing has pushed forward a green transition, the country has continued to expand coal infrastructure, including to ensure grid stability for renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

Shanxi province, where the latest incident took place, is one of the country’s leading producers, accounting more than a quarter of the country’s coal.

CNN’s Sylvie Zhuang contributed to this reporting.

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