China: 90 killed and nine trapped following gas explosion at coal mine

At least 90 people have been killed following a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China, state media reports.

The blast happened late on Friday night local time, according to the Xinhua news agency, and it is believed around 247 workers were underground at the time.

Nine people were said to be trapped below the surface on Saturday afternoon.

Reports suggest that carbon monoxide levels had exceeded safe limits at the Liushenyu coal mine near Changzhi City in Shanxi province.

Intensive rescue efforts are under way, Xinhua said, while the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to state media CCTV.

The mine entrance features a steep slope of around 30 degrees, and all rescue supplies can only be transported in and out by mine cars.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ​called for authorities to "spare no effort" in treating the injured and conducting search and rescue operations.

He has also ​ordered a thorough investigation into the cause ⁠of the accident and strict ⁠accountability in accordance with the law.

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Earlier, Xinhua had reported that eight people had died, ⁠with more than 200 people safely ​brought to the surface.

It did not explain ​the jump in the death toll.

Executives of the ⁠company responsible for the mine have been detained, Xinhua reported, adding that the coal mine, was placed on a national list of disaster-prone coal mines by China's National Mine Safety Administration in 2024 for having "high gas content".

The Liushenyu coal mine - operated by the Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons - is located in Shanxi, known as China's main coal mining province.

The province's hundreds of thousands of miners dug 1.17 billion metric tons of coal last year - almost a third of China's total.

(c) Sky News 2026: China: 90 killed and nine trapped following gas explosion at coal mine