More than 90 people were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in northern China, Chinese state media reported.
State news agency Xinhua said the accident happened at the Liushenyu mine in Shanxi province, owned by the Tongzhou Group.
“Journalists at the site of the gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine learned that 82 people died in the accident,” Xinhua announced.
The explosion occurred on Friday at 19:29 local time, that is, at 11:29 CET.
At the time of the accident, 247 miners were working in the mine.
Rescue in progress
Rescue operations are still ongoing, and the Chinese authorities have not yet announced what caused the explosion.
Shanxi province is one of China’s main coal producing centers. Mining accidents in China remain relatively common despite tightening safety regulations in recent years.
Xi ordered an investigation
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an immediate rescue operation and a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.
Xi stressed that “all regions and prefectures must learn from this accident, remain constantly vigilant regarding occupational safety (…) and resolutely prevent and contain major accidents and disasters,” the official agency added.
Hours earlier, Xinhua reported that people trapped underground were in “critical condition” and specified that levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless poisonous gas, exceeded the critical threshold in the mine on Friday.
Such accidents in China were common in the early 2000s
In the early 2000s, fatal accidents were common in China’s coal mining industry, but safety standards have been tightened in recent years. China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has sent 345 personnel from six rescue teams to help with the operation, it said. Index.hr.
(TYPE/Photo: Screenshot: X)
