China coal mine blast kills at least 90 in Shanxi province

A gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in northern China’s Shanxi province killed at least 90 people, turning a Friday evening shift into the country’s deadliest mining disaster in years. The blast struck at about 7:29 p.m. local time on May 22 in Qinyuan county, Changzhi city, when 247 workers were underground.

More than 200 workers were brought safely to the surface, but the scale of the accident quickly became clear as rescuers searched the mine and officials tallied the dead. Early reporting said dozens had been trapped underground after the explosion, and carbon monoxide levels in the mine were found to have exceeded limits, a sign of how quickly the emergency turned lethal.

Xi Jinping called for all-out rescue efforts and told authorities across the country to learn from the accident, strengthen workplace safety, and intensify efforts to identify and eliminate hidden risks. He also urged that those responsible be held to account. Reports said executives from the company responsible for the mine had been detained.

The disaster has revived hard questions about industrial safety enforcement in China’s coal sector, especially in Shanxi, the country’s top coal-producing province. The province has long been central to national energy supply, but the blast shows how lethal failures in ventilation, monitoring, and oversight can still unfold in a sector that has repeatedly been the subject of safety crackdowns.

State media described the accident as China’s deadliest coal mine disaster since at least 2009 and the country’s biggest mining disaster in 17 years. That places Liushenyu among the most severe industrial accidents in recent memory and raises pressure on officials to show that safety campaigns are more than slogans. In a province that produces roughly a quarter to a third of China’s coal in recent reporting, any breakdown in enforcement carries national consequences, not only for miners and their families but for the credibility of the system meant to protect them.