More than 90 people killed after huge explosion rips through Chinese coal mine

At least 82 people are said to have been killed in a coal mine blast in northern China, with nine people still missing, according to state media.

The explosion occurred at 19:29 local time on Friday at a coal mine in Shanxi, with over 240 workers on shift at the time.

State news agency Xinhua confirmed the news, with at least 90 people being confirmed dead.

Rescue operations are now underway.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for no effort to be spared to treat the injured and search for the missing people.

He has also asked the government to investigate the cause of the accident and hold those responsible to account.

The explosion happened at the Liushenyu Coal Mine, run by the Tongzhou Group, in Shanxi Province.

Officials running the coal mine have been detained.

Rescue operations are underway

| XINHUA

Footage from state media, shows paramedics carrying stretchers to the site, with ambulances in the background.

Over 100 people are said to have been taken to hospital.

Reports suggest that carbon monoxide levels had "exceeded limits" at the coal mine.

Shanxi is one of China's poorer provinces and is known as the country's coal-mining capital.

More then 100 people have been rushed to hospital following the explosion

XINHUA

China's Ministry of Emergency Management has sent 345 personnel to help with the operation.

The main entrance of the mine features a steep slope of around 30 degrees, and all rescue supplies can only be transported in and out by mine cars.

Xinhua had initially reported that that eight people had died, before the number rose dramatically.

The state media did not explain the jump in the death toll.

Safety standards have been improved in recent years, however in the early 2000's deadly accidents were common in Chinese mines.

China is the world's biggest consumer of coal and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

In 2023, a collapse at a coal mine in the Inner Mongolia region killed 53 people.

In 2009, an explosion at a mine in the Heilongjiang province killed more than 100.

The cause of the blast is currently unknown