Rescuers Race Against Time as Chinese Mine Explosion Leaves 90 Dead

Rescue teams in Shanxi Province are working around the clock after a gas explosion ripped through the Liushenyu coal mine, killing 90 miners and leaving nine still missing.

The accident happened Friday evening when 247 workers were underground. Officials said carbon monoxide levels rose above safe limits, trapping many deep inside the 30-degree slope of the mine.

“As long as there is hope, we will make every possible effort,” one rescuer told Xinhua as crews transported supplies in and out by mine cars.

President Xi Jinping has called for a full-scale rescue and treatment of the injured, and demanded a thorough investigation with accountability under the law. He urged officials nationwide to strengthen workplace safety and eliminate potential risks.

Of those pulled out alive, 123 are receiving hospital care. Two are in critical condition and two in serious condition.

The mine, operated by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group, had been flagged by China’s National Mine Safety Administration in 2024 for high gas content. The company’s executives have been detained pending the investigation.

The disaster is China’s worst since 2005, when 214 people died in a gas explosion at the Sunjiawan coal mine in Liaoning province.