Xi Jinping urges authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescue operation after blast in northern Shanxi province
At least 90 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in China’s northern Shanxi province, the country’s deadliest mining accident since at least 2009.
The gas explosion occurred late on Friday at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, with 247 workers on duty underground, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
The mine is operated by Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry, which was established in 2010 and is controlled by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group, according to the corporate database Qichacha.
Rescue operations were taking place and the cause of the accident was under investigation, according to the local emergency management authority in Qinyuan. Shanxi is one of China’s coal-mining heartlands.
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, called for authorities to “spare no effort” in treating the injured and conducting search and rescue operations, while ordering an investigation into the cause of the accident and who was accountable, Xinhua said.
He “emphasised that all regions and departments must draw lessons from this accident, remain constantly vigilant regarding workplace safety … and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and catastrophic accidents”.
The Chinese premier, Li Qiang, echoed Xi’s instructions, calling for timely and accurate release of information and rigorous accountability.
China has significantly reduced coalmine fatalities – often caused by gas explosions or flooding – since the early 2000s through more stringent regulations and safer practices.
In 2009, an explosion at a mine in Heilongjiang province killed 108 people.
Executives of the company responsible for the Liushenyu mine were detained, Xinhua reported.
Shanxi provincial authorities dispatched seven rescue and medical teams totalling 755 personnel to the site, the emergency management bureau at Qinyuan said.
Source: Guardian - World News
