Deadliest coal mine explosion in China in years kills at least 82 people

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Asia Deadliest coal mine explosion in China in years kills at least 82 people Updated May 23, 202612:53 PM ET Originally published May 23, 20262:07 AM ET By The Associated Press This photo released by Xinhua News Agency, shows a scene at the rescue site of the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, China's Shanxi Province, Saturday, May 23, 2026. Cao Yang/XinHua via AP hide caption toggle caption Cao Yang/XinHua via AP BEIJING — A gas explosion at a coal mine in China's northern Shanxi province killed at least 82 people, local officials said Saturday, in what was the country's deadliest mining accident in recent years. The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident at Changzhi city's Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening.

At a news conference late Saturday, local authorities said 82 were dead and that more than 120 people were hospitalized. Two were still missing. The death toll was a revised, lower number from earlier reports by state broadcaster CCTV that said 90 had died.

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The scene at the coal mine was "chaotic" in the immediate aftermath of the accident, they said, and figures provided at the time were initial and not definite. Sponsor Message The explosion was under investigation, local officials said, adding there were "serious violations" of the law by the mine's operator. They did not elaborate on any specific violations.

Earlier on Saturday, Xinhua reported that rescue work was pressing on a day after the accident, with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to CCTV. In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescue workers pass by an ambulance in the aftermath of an explosion at Changzhi city's Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county, northern China's Shanxi Province on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

Cao Yang/Xinhua via AP hide caption toggle caption Cao Yang/Xinhua via AP Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, Xinhua reported. Xi also called for a "thorough investigation" and accountability "in accordance with the law. " Xinhua later reported that those responsible for the company involved in the mine accident have been "placed under control," citing the local emergency management bureau.

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An investigation team sent by China's powerful State Council, equivalent to the country's Cabinet, would be conducting a "rigorous and uncompromising" probe into the deadly explosion, a separate Xinhua report said following Xi's remarks. Wang Yong, one of the hospitalized miners, told CCTV in a video interview that he smelled sulfur "like firecrackers" and saw smoke. "I told people to run," he said.

"As I ran, I saw people being choked by the smoke. And then I blacked out. " Sponsor Message The state broadcaster also reported that blueprints provided by the coal mine did not match the actual layout, hampering rescue efforts.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.