Authorities in China are investigating possible safety violations at a coal mine in Shanxi province after a gas explosion killed at least 82 people, turning renewed attention to persistent risks inside the country’s vast coal industry.
Rescue operations were still underway Sunday for two missing miners at the Liushenyu coal mine, where 247 workers were reportedly underground when the blast ripped through a mine shaft on Friday. At least 128 miners were taken to hospitals following the explosion.
Officials said a robot had been deployed into the shaft to assess conditions as rescuers continued their search. But the disaster has also triggered a probe into the mine operator, which local authorities accused of “serious breaches” of safety regulations.
Officials did not immediately provide full details of the alleged violations, but reports from local media pointed to possible operational failures. Some miners told Agence France-Presse they had to buy their own protective helmets, while other reports said more than half of those who entered the shaft had not been properly registered through facial recognition systems or issued required tracking devices.
Authorities also cited “chaotic” conditions and “inaccurate” information from the mine operator, which they said contributed to the initial death toll being reported at 90 before it was revised to 82. State broadcaster CCTV reported that blueprints submitted by the mine did not match the actual underground layout, complicating rescue efforts.
State media outlet Xinhua reported that one person deemed responsible had been “placed under control,” while Beijing ordered a nationwide crackdown on illegal mining practices, including the falsification of safety data, inaccurate tracking of miners, and irregular commissioning procedures.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a thorough investigation into the tragedy. A commentary in the official People’s Daily also urged local governments and agencies to learn from the accident and keep safety at the center of operations.
Shanxi, one of China’s poorer provinces, is a major coal-producing region and remains central to the country’s energy supply. Despite its rapid growth in renewable energy, China remains the world’s largest coal consumer.
Mining safety in China has improved in recent decades, but deadly accidents continue to expose gaps in enforcement and compliance. In 2009, 108 people were killed in a mine explosion in Heilongjiang province, one of the country’s deadliest mining disasters in recent history.