Coal mine gas explosion in north China kills 90
Ninety miners were killed in a gas explosion in a coal mine in north China, official media in Beijing reported on Saturday, adding that 201 miners have so far been rescued. The gas explosion occurred at the Liushenyu coal mine. Rescue efforts are ongoing.
The death toll rose to 90 following a coal mine accident in Qinyuan County in north China’s Shanxi Province, state-run China Daily reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued instructions for a comprehensive rescue operation and treatment of the injured. He has called for proper handling of the aftermath of the accident and sought a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance with the law. Xi has stressed that authorities across the country must learn from the accident, remain vigilant on workplace safety, and intensify efforts to identify and eliminate potential risks to prevent major accidents.
As China enters its flood season, Xi also called for strengthened emergency preparedness and solid flood control and disaster relief measures to safeguard people’s lives and property.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing has led a team to the site to oversee the rescue efforts. Shanxi province is known as China’s main coal mining province. With a size larger than Greece and a population of around 34 million, the province’s hundreds of thousands of miners dug 1.3 billion tons (1.17 billion metric tons) of coal last year, nearly a third of China’s total. Mining disasters are common in China, where rapid industrialisation came with intense resource exploitation, poor working conditions and a weak regulatory framework.
Mine owners and local officials are frequently blamed for putting profits ahead of safety. Underground explosions often are blamed on a lack of ventilation equipment to clear gas that seeps from the coal bed.
