BEIJING – A devastating gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China’s major coal-producing region of Shanxi has claimed at least eight lives and left 38 workers trapped deep underground, Chinese state media confirmed Saturday.
The emergency incident unfolded Friday evening at the Liushenyu coal mine, located in Changzhi city. At the time of the blast, a total of 247 miners were working below the surface, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. By early hours Saturday, rescue teams had successfully evacuated 201 workers to safety, but dozens remained unaccounted for, according to the report.
Authorities have not yet determined what triggered the explosion, and an official investigation into the root cause of the accident is currently underway, Xinhua added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued urgent instructions calling for an all-out, unreserved rescue effort to reach the trapped workers. Beyond rescue operations, the president ordered a full probe into the disaster and that any parties found responsible for the incident be held legally accountable, per Xinhua’s report.
Shanxi holds a central role in China’s domestic coal industry. Spanning an area larger than the entire nation of Greece and home to roughly 34 million residents, the province hosts thousands of mining operations and employs hundreds of thousands of coal workers. Last year alone, Shanxi produced 1.3 billion tons of coal, which accounts for nearly one-third of China’s total annual coal output, cementing its position as the country’s top coal-producing region.