BEIJING, May 24 - Authorities in northern China have revised the official fatality count from a gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine to 82, local officials said at a press briefing late on Saturday. The revision follows an initial report that cited at least 90 deaths.
Officials attributed the discrepancy to the immediate disorder after the accident. "After the incident the scene was chaotic, the company’s count of the number of workers was not clear, which led to the initial inaccurate number," Guo Xiaofang, head of Qinyuan county in Shanxi where the mine is located, said at the briefing.
At the time of the blast, 247 workers were on duty underground, officials said. Of those, 82 have since been confirmed dead, 128 were injured and hospitalised, 35 sustained no injuries, and two remained unaccounted for, according to the local announcement.
The Liushenyu mine is operated by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group. Local officials confirmed that all four of the company’s mines have been closed and that company executives have been detained as part of the official response.
In Beijing, state leaders directed an immediate and intensive response. President Xi Jinping called for authorities to "spare no effort" in treating the wounded and in search and rescue operations, and he ordered an investigation into the incident, according to Xinhua.
State-run newspaper the People’s Daily ran an editorial on the front page on Sunday urging greater attention to safety in production and calling to "completely reverse the tendency to prioritise development over safety." The editorial underscores the official emphasis on strengthening safety oversight following the accident.
Officials at the briefing also provided figures on the mine’s capacity: Liushenyu has an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons of coal. For context cited by officials, China mined 4.83 billion tons of coal last year, and coal remains the backbone of the country’s power sector.
Context and next steps
Local authorities have closed the operator’s other mines and detained executives as investigators continue to examine the circumstances of the explosion. The revised death toll and the reported missing workers leave key questions outstanding as the investigation proceeds.
Officials have emphasised emergency medical care, search and rescue efforts, and a formal inquiry into the causes and responsibilities arising from the incident.