The death toll from an explosion at a coal mine in the northeast has reached 82, as reported by the state television network CCTV.
A total of 247 workers were at the mine in Liushengyu when the accident occurred on Friday night (local time), New China said. In particular, at 06:00 (local time; 01:00 Greek time), 201 people, including the eight dead, had come to the surface, while 38 remained trapped in galleries and rescue operations were continuing, according to the latest tally provided by the same source, which cited local emergency services.
According to CCTV, the fate of nine people remains unknown.
The Chinese president earlier ordered “all means” to be mobilized to care for the injured and called for an in-depth investigation into the crash, according to the Xinhua news agency. The country’s president stressed that the authorities must “learn lessons from this incident (…), remain permanently vigilant for occupational safety (…) and prevent and prevent such major and catastrophic accidents,” the agency added.
This mine is located some 500 kilometers southwest of Beijing, in Shanxi province, the center of coal mining in China. The Asian power ranks first globally in CO2 emissions, as well as in the consumption of coal, a raw material considered a more reliable solution compared to renewable energy sources due to supply interruptions.
Occupational safety in Chinese mines is thought to have improved in recent decades, thanks to a series of measures taken by the authorities. However, accidents remain frequent in this area of activity, as the implementation of safety protocols is often characterized as too lax.
