Ninety people were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi province in northern China, the country's deadliest mining accident since 2009.
The gas explosion occurred late on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county, where 247 workers were on duty underground, state media Xinhua reported.
The mine is operated by Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry, which was established in 2010 and is controlled by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group, according to the corporate database Qichacha.
Rescue operations were continuing, and the cause of the accident was under investigation, according to the local emergency management authority in Qinyuan.
China's coal industry
Shanxi is China's coal-mining heartland. China has reduced its coal-mining fatalities in recent years, but the vast industry continues to juggle competing priorities. The government has pushed output to record levels to meet energy security demands, even as safety officials crack down on overstressed facilities and blame mine owners and operators for accidents.
Even after years of dramatic renewable energy growth, coal remains a pillar of China’s energy mix, underpinning power generation and industrial activity. It is also one of the few options to make up for shortfalls in liquefied natural gas supply from the Arabian Gulf.
The midsized Liushenyu mine has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes, mostly coking coal – a modest sliver of the province’s overall output of 1.3 billion tonnes.
Rescue and rehabilitation efforts
President Xi Jinping called for 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 and strict accountability in accordance with the law, according to Xinhua.
Premier Li Qiang called for timely and accurate release of information and rigorous accountability.
Executives of the company responsible for the mine have been detained, Xinhua reported.
Shanxi provincial authorities have sent seven rescue and medical teams totalling 755 personnel to the site, the emergency management bureau at Qinyuan said.
Deadliest coal accidents in China
The gas explosion on Friday is now China's deadliest coal mine disaster since 2009.
- In 1950, a mine accident at the Yiluo Mine in Henan province killed at least 174 people.
- In 1960, a methane explosion at the Laobaidong Coal Mine in Shanxi province killed 684 people.
- In 1991, a gas explosion at the Sanjiao River coal mine in Shanxi province killed 147 people.
- In 2000, a gas explosion at the Muchonggou Coal Mine in Guizhou province killed 162 people.
- In 2004, a gas explosion at the Daping Coal Mine in Xinmi, Henan province, killed 148 people. In the same year, a gas explosion at the Chenjiashan Coal Mine in Tongchuan, Shaanxi province, killed 166 people.
- In 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 that year. Another explosion in 2005 at the Dongfeng Coal Mine in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang province, killed around 170 people.
- In 2007, heavy rains flooded two mines in Shandong province, killing 181 people.
- In 2009, a gas explosion at the Xinxing Mine in Heilongjiang province killed 108 people.
– With input from Reuters and Bloomberg
