At least 90 people died in a gas explosion this Friday at the Liushenyu mine in China’s Shanxi province (center), reported state channel CCTV.

The accident occurred at 7:29 PM local time this Friday (11:29 AM GMT) in that operation located in the Qinyuan district, belonging to the town of Changzhi, where 247 people were working at the time of the incident and where rescue efforts continue, according to the official Xinhua agency.

The death toll increased throughout the day: in an initial count released Saturday morning, authorities had reported 8 dead, 201 people evacuated alive, and 38 trapped underground, before raising the number of fatalities first to “more than 50” and then to 82.

Authorities have not yet detailed the specific circumstances in which the explosion occurred, although they have indicated that rescue efforts were still underway.

In parallel, Xinhua indicated that a person responsible for the company that owns the mine had been placed “under the control of the authorities,” in a move that points to the beginning of the investigation into possible liabilities for the incident.

After the accident became known, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for intensified search efforts, care for the injured, an investigation into the causes of the event, and accountability.

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing traveled to the scene to supervise rescue efforts and post-accident management.

Coal mines, from which China generates around 60% of its energy, continue to have a high accident rate, although in recent years the number of fatal accidents has significantly decreased.

The Chinese mining sector registered more than 3,000 deaths between 2018 and 2023, a figure that nevertheless represented a 53.6% decrease compared to the previous five-year period, according to official data.

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