Xi calls for all-out rescue after coal mine explosion kills at least 82 in China.

By CATIE EDMONDSON

China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, called Saturday for a redoubled rescue mission in northern China after a gas explosion in a mine there killed at least 82 people, the Chinese state news agency said, in what appeared to be one of the deadliest Chinese mining disasters in years.

Xi “stressed the need to make every effort to treat the injured, organize search-and-rescue operations scientifically and properly handle the aftermath,” the agency, Xinhua, reported. He also called for an investigation into the explosion, which happened Friday night, and emphasized the need to “hold those responsible to account, according to the law.”

Xi’s decision to quickly, and personally, issue a statement was significant and may have indicated that Chinese officials expected the situation to worsen. The Chinese government often holds back details of accidents while it gathers information and prepares to issue a response. But soon after Xi’s statement Saturday, the official death count began to rise drastically, with new tolls announced every few minutes.

However, the latest death toll of 82 people was a correction by officials to an earlier count of 90 reported by state media. The head of the county, speaking at a news conference late Saturday, said the chaos of the scene and unclear numbers on the company’s workforce led the government to get the initial toll wrong.

Additionally, two people are missing, and 128 are hospitalized with injuries, officials said at the conference.

Xinhua initially reported eight deaths and said that more than 200 of the 247 workers who had been underground when the explosion occurred had been safely recovered.

As of Saturday morning, the cause of the explosion was still unknown, according to CCTV, the Chinese state broadcaster. Xinhua reported that local authorities had been alerted Friday night that an underground carbon monoxide sensor at the site, the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, had set off an alarm, indicating that levels had exceeded safety limits.

Mayor Chen Xiangyang of Changzhi said at Saturday night’s news conference that a “preliminary assessment indicates that the coal mining company involved has committed serious violations.” He did not say what the violations were, adding, “the specific cause of the accident is under further investigation.”

Live coverage from CCTV on Saturday showed emergency personnel massed on site, pulling out stretchers from ambulances alongside what appeared to be workers pushing mine carts.

The mine, operated by the Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Group, was listed in 2024 among 1,128 mines that had been cited for “severe safety hazards” by China’s National Mine Safety Administration. The Liushenyu coal mine was specifically cited for high gas levels.

“Provincial-level mine safety supervision departments must urge severely disaster-prone coal mines to implement measures for regional disaster management,” the National Mine Safety Administration said in a statement when it released the list.

China has a long history of industrial disasters, though in the past 10 years, the government has tightened safety regulations and reduced the number of industrial and mine accidents.

The explosion in Shanxi appears to be among the deadliest in recent years, and comes only weeks after a fireworks factory blast killed 26 in Hunan province. It seems to be the deadliest mining disaster since 2023, when 53 people were killed after an open pit coal mine collapsed in Inner Mongolia, a region of northern China.

In 2020, 16 people died of carbon monoxide poisoning after they were trapped in a coal mine in southwestern China.