At least 90 people died in a gas explosion that occurred on Friday at the Liushenyu mine, in the central Chinese province of Shanxi, Chinese state media reported.
The accident occurred at 19:29 local time on Friday (11:29 GMT) at that site located in the Qinyuan district, where 247 people were working at the time of the incident and where rescue efforts continue, according to the official Xinhua agency.
The death toll increased throughout the day: in an initial report released on Saturday morning, authorities had reported 8 dead, 201 people evacuated alive, and 38 trapped underground, before raising the number of fatalities first to “more than 50” and then to 82.
Later, state television CCTV indicated that, in addition to the 82 deceased, another 9 people were still missing.
Authorities have not yet detailed the specific circumstances in which the explosion occurred nor the condition of the people still unaccounted for, although they have indicated that rescue operations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, Xinhua reported that a person responsible for the company owning the mine had been “placed under the control of authorities,” a move that points to the beginning of the investigation into possible liabilities for the incident.
After the accident became known, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for intensified search efforts, care for the injured, investigation of the causes of the event, and accountability.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing traveled to the site to oversee rescue operations and post-accident management.
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Coal mines, the material with which China generates around 60% of its energy, continue to record high accident rates, although in recent years the number of fatal accidents has significantly decreased.
The Chinese mining sector recorded more than 3,000 deaths between 2018 and 2023, a figure that nevertheless represented a 53.6% decrease compared to the previous five years, according to official data.
The first testimony
“It smelled like sulfur”
A survivor of the gas explosion described how he managed to escape through a “cloud of smoke” smelling of sulfur, in one of the first testimonies released about the incident.
The worker, named Wang Yong, told state broadcaster CCTV that he was at work front 311 when he began to notice smoke, without having heard “any noise” beforehand.
“Then I smelled something like sulfur, like when there is a blast,” Wang said, adding that at that moment he started warning other colleagues to run towards the exit. During the escape, the miner said he saw people affected by the smoke and that he himself lost consciousness.
“I saw people choking on the smoke. I also fainted. After lying down for more than an hour, I woke up alone, woke up the people next to me, and we left the mine,” he recounted, cited by CCTV.
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