According to state media Xinhua on Saturday, the death toll from a gas explosion at a coal mine in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi has increased to at least 82.It is believed that at least nine persons are still unaccounted for.
Xinhua reported earlier in the day that 247 workers were on duty underground when the gas explosion happened late on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county.
According to Xinhua, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged officials to “spare no effort” in caring for the injured and carrying out search and rescue operations.
According to the publication, he mandated rigorous accountability in compliance with the law and a comprehensive probe of the accident’s cause.
Premier Li Qiang reiterated the directives, demanding strict responsibility as well as prompt and accurate information sharing.
The local emergency management authority in Qinyuan stated that rescue efforts were continuing and that the accident’s cause was being looked into.
Since the early 2000s, China has drastically decreased coal mine deaths, which are sometimes brought on by gas explosions or flooding, thanks to stricter rules and safer methods.
Rescuers are working at Changzhi City’s Liushenyu coal mine.
However, the Liushenyu tragedy was among the bloodiest in China’s last ten years.
According to Xinhua, executives of the firm in charge of the mine have been arrested.
Only eight individuals had been reported deceased, according to Xinhua earlier, while over 200 people had been safely transported to the surface. The increase in the death toll was not explained by it.
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