More than 50 dead in China coal mine blast
More than 240 miners were underground at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi Province when the accident occurred on Friday night.
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BEIJING: More than 50 people have died after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China, state media reported on Saturday (May 23).
A total of 247 miners were underground at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi Province when the accident occurred on Friday night.
The death toll was a sharp increase from the eight fatalities earlier reported. Xinhua news agency said dozens were trapped underground.
President Xi Jinping urged "all-out efforts" to treat the injured and called for thorough investigations into the incident, Xinhua said.
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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".
Rescue efforts were ongoing, Xinhua said.
Xinhua reported earlier that levels of carbon monoxide - a highly toxic, odourless gas - had "exceeded limits" at the mine.
Some of those trapped underground were in "critical condition", the earlier report said.
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 frequently in an industry where safety protocols are often lax.
China is the world's top consumer of coal and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, despite installing renewable energy capacity at record speed.
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