Liushinyu Mine Disaster: Gas Explosion in East China Kills 90 Workers

At least 90 people have been killed and dozens injured in a violent gas explosion inside a coal mine in northeastern China, prompting Chinese President Xi Jinping to immediately order a thorough and in-depth investigation into the circumstances of the incident, while stressing the need to draw harsh lessons to prevent the recurrence of such industrial disasters.

The devastating explosion occurred inside the Liuxinyu coal mine in Qingyuan province, while about 247 workers were underground at the time of the incident, according to China's official Xinhua news agency, citing local and field authorities.

Sudden lethal gas and medical alert to rescue victims

The official CCTV channel reported that the death toll had risen to at least 90, while hospitals received 123 injured workers to receive emergency treatment, including four workers who are still in a very critical condition, while 33 injured people were able to return to their homes after their condition improved, amid the continuation of intensive rescue operations and search for possible missing people until Saturday afternoon.

In their initial account, the Chinese authorities attributed the technical causes of the accident to the toxic and lethal levels of "carbon monoxide" gas exceeding the permissible limits inside the mine's corridors, explaining that the data indicate that a gas explosion caused by the accumulation of methane gas emitted from coal as a result of poor ventilation, followed by the ignition of a passing spark that led to the emission of odorless suffocating gases.

Live testimonies from the site of the explosion and legal proceedings

State media quoted the vivid and moving testimony of one of the injured surviving workers, Wang Yong, who explained that he did not hear a conventional explosion, but was surprised by a thick and sudden cloud of sulfur smoke, recalling the difficult moments: "I shouted at people to run away, and while running I saw my colleagues fall to the ground because they were suffocated by gas, before I lost consciousness completely for about an hour, then I got up and called out to those around me and we got out."

China's security and judicial services have placed an executive of the mine's operator "under control in accordance with the law" to conduct investigations, without revealing further details about the nature of the charges, while Premier Li Qiang has instructed to ensure that information and data are disseminated to the public in a timely and accurate manner, while applying the principle of strict accountability against the defaulters.

A track record of abuse and a sustainable energy crisis

Tongzhou Group, the operator of the stricken Liuxinyu mine, faced two severe administrative sanctions last year 2025 for serious technical issues and the detection of gaps related to worker safety, highlighting once again the lax implementation of occupational safety and safety measures at some sites in this vital sector.

The People's Republic of China, the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, relies primarily on coal for its huge energy and electricity generation needs, despite government plans to expand renewable energy alternatives, and the sector, which employs more than 1.5 million workers, remains the scene of frequent accidents despite the relative improvement in safety standards in recent decades.

Long history of accidents

In November 2009, a huge explosion at a mine in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang killed more than 100 workers.  February  2023 also witnessed another disaster in the Inner Mongolia region (north), following the collapse of an open coal mine that buried dozens of vehicles and machinery and left 53 people dead, highlighting the scale of the structural challenges that have been The authorities are facing it in controlling the security of this sector.

The disaster exposes the gap between China's relentless pursuit of energy flows to power its massive factories and stringent underground safety requirements. Under economic pressure to increase domestic coal production to reduce reliance on imports, some operators are rushing to increase working hours and neglect the maintenance of ventilation and cooling networks, which explains the occurrence of methane explosions caused by gas accumulation and makes the Chinese president's call for "lessons learned" a real test of Beijing's assertiveness in providing lives Workers on production figures.