A massive gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has reignited concerns about workplace safety, regulatory oversight, and corruption within the country’s mining industry, with critics arguing that the tragedy was not simply an accident but a preventable man-made disaster.
The explosion occurred on May 22 at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Qinyuan County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. Chinese authorities reported that at least 82 miners were killed, two remain missing, and 128 others were injured, making it one of China’s deadliest mining disasters in more than a decade.
The scale of the tragedy has prompted comparisons to the early 2000s, when China’s coal industry became infamous for deadly accidents that claimed thousands of lives each year. At the time, many Chinese media outlets and activists referred to unsafe mines as “killer mines” because of the large human toll.
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Missing tracking devices hampered rescue efforts
According to reports, rescue efforts were severely hampered because many miners working in concealed sections of the mine were not carrying mandatory personnel tracking devices. Chinese media later reported that while official records showed only 124 workers underground, the actual number was 247, leaving more than 100 miners effectively untracked when the explosion occurred.
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Without those electronic tags, emergency responders struggled to determine miners’ locations after the blast. Authorities also reportedly discovered that maps submitted by the mine did not accurately reflect the actual layout of underground tunnels, making search-and-rescue operations even more difficult.
One miner told Chinese media that many workers intentionally went underground without tracking cards because the mine was allegedly conducting unauthorized extraction activities. “If workers carried tracking cards, it would expose the company’s illegal mining operations,” the miner said.
The same source claimed the mine employed a large number of unregistered workers. While the mine’s public display board listed only 124 miners underground at the time of the explosion, the actual number was reportedly 247.
Another miner offered a blunt assessment of conditions at the site. “The only thing that was real was the coal being mined. Everything else was fake,” he said. He added that falsified mine maps were common throughout the industry and that many operations maintained multiple sets of records to conceal unauthorized mining activities.
The industry’s didden ‘dark side’
Further details emerged in reporting by China Newsweek, which described the existence of so-called “dark zones” within the mine — areas where mining activities were allegedly conducted without official approval or disclosure. A miner interviewed by the publication said the section where he worked did not appear on official mine maps. Such concealed work areas were reportedly hidden from inspectors and regulators.
When inspections occurred, workers allegedly sealed entrances to the unauthorized sections with bricks and cement. Once inspectors departed, the areas were reopened and mining resumed. Because he worked in one of these hidden zones, the miner said he was never issued a tracking device, despite regulations requiring every underground worker to carry one.
Emergency personnel reportedly discovered major discrepancies between official maps and actual tunnel layouts during rescue operations. One field commander reportedly described the records as “yin-yang maps,” a Chinese term often used to describe dual sets of books or documents maintained to conceal misconduct.
Qin Jianlin, a veteran coal industry worker cited by China Newsweek under a pseudonym, argued that regulators should have been able to detect such violations. “In my view, the tragedy at Liushenyu was not only the result of illegal mining,” he said. “It was also the result of disregard for miners’ lives. Mine managers concealed information from inspectors, and on-site supervision was inadequate.”
A recurring problem
The disaster has triggered widespread criticism online despite China’s tightly controlled internet environment. Many commenters argued that the mine’s alleged misconduct could not have continued for so long without regulatory failures. “The biggest lie is fake supervision,” one user wrote.
Another questioned how repeated safety violations and falsified records could repeatedly pass inspections. “If there was no collusion between officials and businesses, would anyone believe it?” another commenter asked. Others argued local authorities should bear responsibility for allowing unsafe practices to continue unchecked.
China has spent years attempting to improve mine safety following decades of deadly accidents. Between 2000 and 2010, official figures show that an average of nearly 4,900 people died annually in mining accidents across the country. In 2020, Beijing established the National Mine Safety Administration to strengthen oversight. Yet serious accidents continue to occur.
Official statistics recorded 434 mining accidents and 573 deaths in 2020, followed by 356 accidents and 503 deaths in 2021. Several major disasters have also occurred in recent years, including the collapse of an open-pit coal mine in Inner Mongolia in 2023 that left 53 people dead or missing.
Analysts say economic pressures may be contributing to ongoing risks. Though China continues to expand renewable energy sources, coal remains the backbone of the country’s energy system. Some experts argue that pressure to maintain production levels can encourage mine operators to cut corners on safety measures.
