A GAS EXPLOSION at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 90 people, state media reported on Saturday, in one of the country’s biggest industrial disasters of recent years.

The blast occurred at 7.29pm (12.29pm Irish time) on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A total of 247 workers were underground at the time, most of whom were brought to the surface by Saturday morning, Xinhua said.

At least 90 people had died and 123 others were sent to hospital for treatment, four of whom were in critical or severe condition, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Of those sent for treatment, 33 had returned home as of 2:00 pm on Saturday, it added.

A total of 755 emergency and medical personnel were dispatched to the site, with rescue efforts still ongoing Saturday afternoon, CCTV added.

Friday’s explosion was the worst mining disaster in China since 2009, when 108 people were killed in a mine blast in northeast Heilongjiang province.

President Xi Jinping urged “all-out efforts” to treat the injured and called for thorough investigations into the incident, Xinhua said.

He “emphasised that all regions and departments must draw lessons from this accident, remain constantly vigilant regarding workplace safety… and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and catastrophic accidents”.

A person “responsible for” the company involved in the explosion has been “placed under control in accordance with the law”, Xinhua said.

State media initially reported four deaths and dozens trapped after levels of carbon monoxide – a highly toxic, odourless gas – in the mine were found to have “exceeded limits”.

Lax safety protocols

Shanxi, one of China’s poorer provinces, is the country’s coal-mining capital.

Mine safety in the country has improved in recent decades, but accidents still occur in an industry where safety protocols are often lax and regulations vague.

In 2023, a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in the northern Inner Mongolia region killed 53 people.

And in 2009, an explosion at a mine in north-eastern Heilongjiang province killed more than 100.

China is the world’s top consumer of coal and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, despite installing renewable energy capacity at record speed.