Xi Calls for All-Out Rescue After Coal Mine Explosion Kills at Least 90 in China
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- A gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi Province, northern China, killed at least 90 people, marking one of the deadliest Chinese mining disasters in recent years.
- Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for intensified rescue efforts, proper treatment of the injured, a scientific approach to search and rescue, and a thorough investigation to hold those responsible accountable.
- The mine had been previously cited for severe safety hazards, including high gas levels, by China’s National Mine Safety Administration in 2024.
- The explosion occurred while 247 workers were underground, with initial alarms triggered by elevated carbon monoxide levels; the exact cause of the blast remains unknown.
- This disaster follows a recent pattern of industrial accidents in China despite tightened safety regulations, including a fireworks factory blast in Hunan Province that killed 26 people weeks earlier.