A devastating gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has resulted in at least eight fatalities and left 38 workers trapped underground, according to state media reports on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday evening at the Liushenyu coal mine in Changzhi city, located in Shanxi province, as confirmed by the official Xinhua news agency. At the time of the explosion, approximately 247 workers were underground. By early Saturday, 201 individuals had been successfully brought to the surface.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion, as reported by Xinhua. Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged an all-out rescue effort for those still missing and called for a thorough investigation to hold those responsible accountable.
Shanxi's Coal Industry
Shanxi province is China's primary coal-producing region, covering an area larger than Greece and home to around 34 million people. Last year, the province's hundreds of thousands of miners extracted 1.3 billion tons (1.17 billion metric tons) of coal, accounting for nearly one-third of China's total output.
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