Explosion Rocks Coal Mine in China, Eight Dead and Dozens Trapped

An explosion hit a coal mine in northern China on Friday evening local time, killing at least eight people and trapping dozens more underground.

According to Xinhua, as reported by AFP, the blast struck the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi Province on Friday (22 May) evening, at about 19:29 local time.

A total of 247 workers were underground at the time of the explosion; Xinhua reports that 201 of them had been evacuated to the surface safely by Saturday morning (23 May), around 06:00 local time.

Xinhua, citing local emergency authorities, said at least eight people were confirmed dead, while 38 others remained trapped underground.

The cause of the explosion has not yet been clearly established.

However Xinhua had previously reported that carbon monoxide — a highly toxic and odourless gas — had “exceeded limits” in the mine area. Several of those trapped are reported to be in a critical condition.

President Xi Jinping called for “maximum efforts” to treat the injured and urged a thorough investigation into the incident.

‘(Xi) stressed that all regions and departments must learn lessons from this accident, remain vigilant about workplace safety… and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major, devastating accidents,’ Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Rescue operations are ongoing.

Shanxi, one of the country’s poorer provinces, is a centre of coal mining in China.

Mine safety has improved in China over the past decades, but accidents still occur frequently in an industry where safety protocols are often lax.

China is the world’s largest coal consumer and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, even as it has rapidly expanded its renewable energy capacity.