Safety inspections ordered nationwide after Shanxi gas explosion kills 82

All-out rescue efforts continued on Sunday to locate two people still unaccounted for after a deadly coal mine accident in Shanxi province.

A gas explosion struck the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county of the city of Changzhi at 7:29 pm on Friday. A total of 82 people were confirmed dead, and two were missing.

A total of 128 people were injured and were receiving hospital treatment, including two in critical condition and two in serious condition. Another 35 people without serious injuries returned home.

President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has urged all-out efforts to rescue the missing and treat the injured, and he demanded a thorough investigation, with accountability pursued in accordance with the law.

Xi also stressed that authorities across the country must draw lessons from the accident, remain vigilant regarding workplace safety, and intensify efforts to identify and eliminate potential risks in order to prevent major accidents.

As China has entered flood season, he also called for strengthened emergency preparedness and solid flood control and disaster relief measures to safeguard people's lives and property.

Premier Li Qiang also gave instructions on the rescue and accident investigation efforts. Li, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, urged the strengthening of workplace safety supervision across the country and called for a workplace safety overhaul in key sectors to curb the occurrence of major accidents.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing has led a team to the site to oversee rescue operations and handling of the accident aftermath. The team said it will launch a "tough and uncompromising" investigation into the cause of the accident, clarify responsibilities in local management, industry supervision and corporate operations, and impose strict penalties in accordance with laws and regulations.

It also called on all regions and relevant departments to conduct a comprehensive review of mine safety measures and crack down on illegal and rule-breaking operations.

Authorities were instructed to carry out strict inspections and punish violations including concealed entrances in coal mines, falsification of safety monitoring data, unclear numbers of underground workers, and illegal subcontracting or contract transfers, according to the report.

Guo Xiaofang, head of the Qinyuan county government, said at a news conference on Saturday that initial inaccuracies in casualty figures were caused by chaos at the scene and the company's failure to provide an accurate head count of workers on duty. According to China Central Television, only 124 workers were registered in the system when the accident occurred, while the actual number of workers on duty was 247.

The company involved in the explosion was found to have "serious violations of laws" in an initial investigation. Those responsible have been placed under control, and all of the company's coal mines have ceased production, said Chen Xiangyang, mayor of Changzhi.

Liang Jianwei, who was working near the site of the explosion, told China Daily on Sunday that many miners collapsed after inhaling toxic gas. As he evacuated on Friday, it took him about two hours to reach safety, he said.

"One by one, the miners who evacuated with me soon started to feel dizzy, so I immediately activated my portable self-rescue device, which helped me breathe. I also tried to open all the ventilation vaults in the thick dust along the way to let air in. We could see many people had already collapsed in the main shafts," said the 54-year-old, who was being treated at Qinyuan People's Hospital.

According to public information, the privately owned Liushenyu mine was listed in 2024 by the National Mine Safety Administration as a "severe safety hazard for high gas emissions". Regulations require safety management standards equivalent to those for high-gas mines, including strengthened outburst prevention measures, increased monitoring frequency and upgraded emergency response plans.

As a major comprehensive energy base in the country, Shanxi has abundant coal resources. According to the provincial government, between 2021 and 2025, daily coal production in Shanxi remained stable at over 3.5 million metric tons. Total raw coal output reached approximately 6.5 billion tons, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the national total.

The province has sent 755 rescuers and medical personnel to the site, while the Ministry of Emergency Management sent six national mine emergency rescue teams, totaling 345 people, to assist.

Guang Xinhai, captain of the Shanxi Huayang mine rescue team of the National Mine Emergency Rescue system, said on Sunday that the mission remained difficult due to cave-ins and flooding in the tunnels.

"We will not give up hope, and we will make every possible effort while ensuring the safety of team members," Guang said. "We plan to screen the entire mine by this afternoon."

Officials said toxic and harmful gases in the mine shaft had exceeded safe limits, raising the risk of secondary disasters.

Rescue plans provided by the Liushenyu coal mine were also found to be inconsistent with the actual underground layout, complicating search and rescue operations, China Emergency Management News reported.

According to the on-site command center, the explosion occurred 300 meters below the surface, and three tunnels, each about one kilometer long, were believed to be where the missing workers might be. Some underground passages have been reduced to rubble or flooded, making access impossible for rescuers, and it was believed that the missing were trapped in these areas, the report said.

To ensure medical care for the injured miners, the National Health Commission said on Saturday that it has organized health officials and multidisciplinary experts to guide treatment efforts.

Vigilance urged

The National Mine Safety Administration has instructed local authorities to implement a recently issued notice on strengthening training for coal mine workers and eliminating safety hazards.

The mine safety administration of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has sent task forces to inspect all active high-gas mines and address violations such as inadequate gas drainage, operations under excessive gas concentrations, and falsification of monitoring data.

Yunnan province has also urged coal producers and supervisors to maintain vigilance and conduct round-the-clock monitoring.

Guo, the head of the Qinyuan county government, said the accident exposed "serious loopholes and weaknesses" in local governance, including workplace safety supervision, risk identification and rectification, and the fulfillment of corporate responsibilities.

He said the next phase of work would focus on verifying information, communicating with families of the deceased and injured, handling compensation, meeting families' daily needs and conducting forensic examinations.

Authorities will verify the identities, backgrounds, family relationships and household conditions of the victims to ensure accuracy.