On the evening of May 22 at 19:29 local time, a gas explosion occurred at the Liushenyu mine in Qinyuan County, Changzhi city, Shanxi Province. According to Xinhua, 247 workers were underground at the time. At least 90 of them died — the largest loss in China's mining industry for at least since 2009, when 77 people perished in the Tunlan mine in the same province.
One detail immediately stands out: according to Xinhua, an underground carbon monoxide detector was triggered before the explosion — CO levels exceeded permissible limits. Whether personnel were evacuated following the alarm signal is not officially reported.
"Conduct a large-scale rescue operation, carefully investigate the causes, and hold those responsible accountable."
Xi Jinping — according to Xinhua
The mine belongs to the company Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry. Notably: in 2024, China's National Mine Safety Administration included it in a list of 1,128 facilities with "serious safety violations" — and it continued operating.
Scale of Operation and Casualties
The rescue operation involved 345 personnel from six specialized brigades, deployed by the Ministry of Emergency Management. In total, 400–500 rescuers worked underground simultaneously. By Saturday noon, more than 100 injured were hospitalized — mostly from toxic gas poisoning, CCTV reports. Nine remained underground.
Initial state media reports early on May 23 recorded only 8 deaths and 38 missing — the sharp jump in figures to 90 has not been officially explained.
Context: Improvements on Paper
Shanxi Province is China's coal heartland. After the catastrophic 2000s, the state consolidated the industry, strengthened regulation, and mortality statistics did decline. However, the trajectory was not linear: in 2023, an avalanche in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region killed 53 miners, and in 2024, Beijing introduced new standards placing greater responsibility directly on operators.
- 2009, Shanxi (Tunlan): 77 deaths
- 2023, Inner Mongolia: 53 deaths
- 2025, Shanxi (Liushenyu): at least 90 deaths
President Xi Jinping called for "learning from this incident" across the country. After each major disaster, similar calls are heard — and each time the industry continues operating with facilities listed as violators.
If the investigation confirms that the CO detector signal was ignored, the question is no longer about technical malfunction — but whether the accountability system that Beijing declares after each tragedy is actually capable of shutting down mines already on "blacklists."
