Shanxi coal mine explosion footage released; safety inspections conducted across coal mining regions in China

State broadcaster CCTV News released footage on Monday capturing the moment of a gas explosion at Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county of Changzhi, North China's Shanxi Province — a harrowing lesson that has sounded an alarm for coal mine safety across China, prompting officials in multiple regions to go underground to oversee workplace safety.

The video shows that the accident occurred at 7:29 pm on Friday, when the explosion struck without warning, instantly shattering the calm of underground operations. As seen in the released footage, thick smoke billowed from the explosion, quickly engulfing the surveillance screen and leaving nothing visible.

CCTV News also reported that miners who survived the explosion recalled their harrowing experience, still haunted by the terrifying moments. One injured miner, Wang Jintai, recounted: "It was around 6 or 7 pm that day when a huge explosion erupted. The blast rushed out and knocked all of us down. I lost consciousness immediately."

"We couldn't see anything — the dust was so thick, like being in a smoke chamber," Wang said.

Another injured miner, Liu Sijie, told CCTV News that he ran for nearly two hours straight. "Having narrowly escaped death, I truly felt how precious life is."

The explosion has left 82 people dead, with two still missing and 128 injured, local officials said at a press conference on Saturday. 

An investigation team sent by China's State Council has pledged a rigorous and uncompromising investigation into the deadly coal mine gas explosion. It also urged local authorities to thoroughly overhaul workplace safety at mines, strike hard against illegal and unlawful operations, and crack down upon practices such as falsification of safety-monitoring data, unclear headcounts of underground personnel, and illegal subcontracting and subleasing, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. 

Following the explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine, officials across various regions in Shanxi have conducted safety inspections on the local mining industry.

On Saturday, Chai Zhe, secretary of the Zezhou county Party Committee in Shanxi Province, conducted an unannounced inspection at a local coal mining enterprise, touring underground operations to examine gas extraction and workplace safety conditions, news portal chinanews.com reported on Monday.

Also on Saturday evening, Wang Linbo, secretary of the Fenxi county Party Committee, and Huo Junbo, deputy secretary of the county Party Committee and county mayor, led a team to conduct an in-depth inspection at a local mining company, per chinanews.com. 

Through the video monitoring system at the dispatch center, they checked the operation of key links including underground excavation, transportation, and gas monitoring. They also inspected the core underground coal mining area, scrutinizing critical aspects such as roadway support, ventilation facilities, gas monitoring, and electromechanical transportation along the way, chinanews.com reported.

Beyond Shanxi Province, where the coal mine accident occurred, leading officials in other regions of China have also gone underground to oversee workplace safety.

For instance, in Hegang, another coal‑rich city in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Han Yang, standing member of the CPC Xing'an district Committee and deputy governor of Xing'an district, inspected a key local coal mine on Sunday. He examined working face support, ventilation systems, fire prevention and control management, as well as the implementation of control measures for major risk areas, chinanews.com reported.

In Liupanshui, Southwest China's Guizhou Province — another coal‑mining city —local officials also conducted an inspection at a local colliery. Zhao Qingqiang, secretary of the Shuicheng district Party Committee, took an overhead passenger system deep into the fully mechanized working face of a local mine to assess the work safety conditions and mining succession arrangements at the working area.

In Huanggang, Central China's Hubei Province, Liu Ting, deputy secretary and district governor of Huangmei district, led a team on Sunday morning to the underground operations site of a local mine. 

They conducted a meticulous, item‑by‑item inspection of six critical systems —underground roof management, ventilation, water control and prevention, monitoring and sensing, emergency broadcasting, and communication links — along with other key operational aspects.