A gas explosion at the Liushenyu mine in the Shanxi province of China killed at least 90 people on Friday. According to Chinese state media Xinhua, 247 workers were on duty when the blast took place in Qinyuan county.
There has been increasing scrutiny over the poor safety standards, weak regulation, and corruption related to coal mines in China, making them among the deadliest in the world. Friday’s explosion is the worst mining disaster reported in China in more than a decade.
According to reports, a carbon monoxide alert was issued before the blast occurred, with claims of gas levels crossing safety limits.
State-run broadcaster CGTN reported that the supervisor of the mine was arrested as the authorities continued to investigate the reason for the explosion.
President Xi Jinping directed authorities across the nation to make stronger efforts to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
“All regions and departments must learn from the lessons of the accident, remain vigilant regarding workplace safety, thoroughly investigate, rectify all types of risks and hidden dangers, and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and serious accidents,” said Xi.
Video footages from the scene of the explosion showed several ambulances parked near the mine. As of Saturday afternoon, rescue operations were still in process while emergency crews continued to search for survivors.
According to state media, at least 201 people were evacuated , with 123 undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Shanxi province is considered to be China’s main coal-mining region. The province saw coal extractions of more than one billion tonnes last year, which is almost a third of the country’s total output.
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, taking up more than half of the global consumption. It is also the world’s largest annual greenhouse gas emitter, while also being the biggest producer of renewable energy.
