China launches ‘uncompromising’ investigation into mine blast that killed at least 82
The Chinese government has vowed to severely punish those responsible, and ordered a nationwide crackdown on illegal mining activities, state news agency Xinhua said Saturday evening.
Rescue workers pass by an ambulance in the aftermath of an explosion at Changzhi city's Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county, northern China's Shanxi Province on May 23, 2026. (Photo: AP/Xinhua News Agency/Cao Yang)
BEIJING: Chinese authorities said on Saturday (May 23) that 82 people had died in a coal mine blast in northern China, revising an earlier death toll of 90, state media reported.
"The incident has resulted in 82 deaths. Two people are still missing, and all-out search efforts are ongoing. Another 128 people were injured and hospitalised," said Chen Xiangyang, mayor of Changzhi city in Shanxi province, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The explosion was the worst mining disaster in China since 2009, when 108 people were killed in a mine blast in northeast Heilongjiang province.
A total of 247 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred at 7.29pm on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Of those sent for treatment, 33 had returned home. A total of 755 emergency and medical personnel were dispatched to the site, with rescue efforts still ongoing Saturday afternoon, CCTV said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier called on authorities to "spare no effort" in treating the injured and conducting search and rescue operations, while ordering a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.
Premier Li Qiang echoed the instructions, calling for timely and accurate release of information and rigorous accountability.
China's government launched an "uncompromising" investigation into the explosion, vowing to severely punish those responsible, and ordered a nationwide crackdown on illegal mining activities, Xinhua said Saturday evening.
"The State Council's accident investigation team will conduct a rigorous and uncompromising investigation," Xinhua said.
"Those found responsible will be severely punished in accordance with laws and regulations".
"All regions and relevant authorities are required to ... launch tough crackdowns on illegal and unlawful activities", including the falsification of safety data, unclear headcounts of underground workers and illegal contracting, it added.
A person "responsible for" the company involved in the explosion has been "placed under control in accordance with the law", Xinhua earlier reported.
Some of China's deadliest coal mine accidents
A gas explosion at Liushenyu coal mine in China's northern Shanxi province late on Friday (May 22) killed 82 people, making it China's worst coal mine disaster in over 16 years.
Here is a timeline of major coal mining disasters in China, as reported by Reuters.
1950:
- A mine accident at the Yiluo Mine in Henan province killed at least 174 people.
1960:
- A methane explosion at the Laobaidong Coal Mine in Shanxi province killed 684 people.
1991:
- A gas explosion at the Sanjiao River coal mine in Shanxi province killed 147 people.
2000:
- A gas explosion at the Muchonggou Coal Mine in Guizhou province, killed 162 people.
2004:
- A gas explosion at the Daping Coal Mine in Xinmi, Henan province, killed 148 people.
- A gas explosion at the Chenjiashan Coal Mine in Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, killed 166 people.
2005:
- A gas explosion at the Sunjiawan colliery of state-owned Fuxin Coal Industry Group in Liaoning province killed 214 people.
- A flood at the Daxing Mine in Guangdong province killed 123 people.
- An explosion at the Dongfeng Coal Mine in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang province, killed around 170 people.
2007:
- Heavy rains flooded two mines in Shandong province, killing 181 people.
2009:
- A gas explosion at the Xinxing Mine in Heilongjiang province killed 108 people.
2026:
- A gas explosion at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Shanxi province killed 82 miners, making it China's deadliest coal mine disaster since 2009.
State media initially reported four deaths and dozens trapped after levels of carbon monoxide - a highly toxic, odourless gas - in the mine were found to have "exceeded limits".
Some of those stuck underground were in "critical condition", that report said.
The death toll then jumped sharply as the morning wore on.
"SULPHUR SMELL"
Survivor and injured miner Wang Yong told CCTV there was a "puff of smoke" and he smelled sulphur.
He recalled seeing people choked by the smoke before he fainted.
"I lay down for about an hour and woke up by myself. I called the people next to me and got out of the mine together," Wang said, according to CCTV.
China has significantly reduced coal mine fatalities - often caused by gas explosions or flooding - since the early 2000s through more stringent regulations and safer practices. The Liushenyu incident, though, was one of the deadliest reported in China in the past decade.
According to official data from the National Mine Safety Administration (NMSA), over 3,000 mine accidents occurred in China between 2010 and 2025.
Just last month, four people were found dead after a roof collapsed at a coal mine in Xingxian county, Shanxi. In 2023, a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in the northern Inner Mongolia region killed 53 people.
Shanxi, one of China's poorer provinces, is the country's coal-mining capital.
China is the world's top consumer of coal and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, despite installing renewable energy capacity at record speed.
