Explosion at coal mine in Shanxi Province, China, kills at least 82 people.

At least 82 miners have died in an explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi Province, China, on Saturday 23 May 2026. The incident happened at Liushenyu Coal Mine in Qinyuan County slightly before 7.30 pm local time at which 247 workers were below ground. The majority of those have now been evacuated, with 128 people being treated in hospital, two of whom are described as being in a serious condition and two more still missing. 

Rescue workers arriving at Liushenyu Coal Mine in Shanxi Province, China, following an explosion at a coal mine on 23 May 2026. Zhu Xingxin/China Daily.

Survivors of the incident report seeing a dust plume rather than hearing an explosion, accompanied by a strong sulphurous smell and then many people blacking out. The majority of those killed and injured are reported to have been affected by gas poisoning. 

Coal is formed when buried organic material, principally wood, in heated and pressurised, forcing off hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water) and leaving more-or-less pure carbon. Methane is formed by the decay of organic material within the coal. There is typically little pore-space within coal, but the methane can be trapped in a liquid form under pressure. Some countries have started to extract this gas as a fuel in its own right. When this pressure is released suddenly, as by mining activity, then the methane turns back to a gas, expanding rapidly causing, an explosion. This is a bit like the pressure being released on a carbonated drink; the term 'explosion' does not necessarily imply fire in this context, although as methane is flammable this is quite likely.

Chinese authorities have dispatched six specialist rescue teams to the site, with a total of 345 personnel and a number of specialist robots capable of entering mines inaccessible to Human rescuers. These have found flooding in the area where the explosion took place, as well as high carbon monoxide levels throughout much of the mine. They have also found that the blueprints of the mine provided by its owners, the Tongzhou Group, do not match the actual layout. 

The mine's management, which have previously been given penalties for administrative failures twice in 2025, are now under investigation for a number of breaches, including developing new coal faces which were not on plans, falsification of health and safety documentation, poor employee records, and illegal uses of subcontractors. Four other mines operated by the Tongzhou Group have been temporarily closed, and mines across Shanxi Province are being subjected to emergency inspections.

Historically, the Chinese coal industry has been beset by safety problems, at least in part due to the rapid expansion of the industry to fuel the country's industrialisation. In the past two decades a major drive towards introducing safety measures combined with a switch away from coal towards renewable sources of energy has reduced the number of such incidents. However, coal is still a major industry, with about a quarter of the coal extracted in China coming from Shanxi Province, and safety clearly still remains a problem.

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Thirteen confirmed fatalities following explosion at coal mine in Henan Province, China.

Thirteen people have now been confirmed dead, and another three are still missing following an explosion at a coal mine in Henan Province, China, on Saturday 13 January 2023. The incident happened at 2.55 pm local time, when 425 people were below ground at the Pingdingshan Tian'an Coal Mining Co's No 12 Mine in the city of Pingdingshan, and is reported to have been caused by a gas outburst. A group of miners rescued from a refuge close to the site of the explosion some hours after the explosion were treated for mild oxygen starvation, but all are expected to make a full recovery.

A group of rescue workers entering the Pingdingshan No 12 Mine on Saturday 13 January 2024. Hao Yuan/Xinhua.

Coal is formed when buried organic material, principally wood, in heated and pressurised, forcing off hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water) and leaving more-or-less pure carbon. Methane is formed by the decay of organic material within the coal. There is typically little pore-space within coal, but the methane can be trapped in a liquid form under pressure. Some countries have started to extract this gas as a fuel in its own right. When this pressure is released suddenly, as by mining activity, then the methane turns back to a gas, expanding rapidly causing, an explosion. This is a bit like the pressure being released on a carbonated drink; the term 'explosion' does not necessarily imply fire in this context, although as methane is flammable this is quite likely.

Fire is much feared in coal mines due to this combination of flammable gas and solids, with methane and coal dust both potentially explosive when they come into contact with naked flames. To make matters worse, the limited oxygen supply in mines often means that such fires will involve incomplete combustion, in which all the oxygen is used up, but instead of forming carbon dioxide forms the much more deadly carbon dioxide, with potentially lethal consequences for anyone in the mine.

As coal is comprised more-or-less of pure carbon, and therefore reacts freely with oxygen (particularly when in dust form), to create carbon dioxide and (more-deadly) carbon monoxide, while at the same time depleting the supply of oxygen. This means that subterranean coal mines need good ventilation systems, and that fatalities can occur if these break down. 

Despite attempts to modernise its energy network, China is still reliant on coal for much of its energy, with 400 000 tonnes of coal mined in China in July 2023, and over 200 million tonnes of coal imported each year, most of it from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, the United States, and Russia. China has been trying to reduce its dependence on foreign coal by expanding its own coal industry with new mines, but this has come at the cost of more accidents within the industry. 

China gains 70% of its energy from coal-burning power stations, which places the country under great pressure to maintain coal supplies. This has led to a poor safety record within the mining sector, particularly in the private sector, where there is a culture of seeking quick profits in poorly regulated (and sometimes officially non-existent) mines.  However, the Chinese authorities have been making efforts to remedy this situation, introducing safety regulations and closing (or at least attempting to close) mines that fail to comply. Annual deaths in Chinese mines have steadily fallen from 6995 in 2002 to 245 in 2022 (the latest year for which statistics are available).

Rescue attempts at the Pingdingshan No 12 mine are being co-ordinated by local authorities, with operations at all Pingdingshan Tian'an Coal mines having been suspended due to the high number of accidents which have happened at mines run by the company recently.

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Eleven killed by explosion at coal mine in Shaanxi Province, China.

Eleven people have died following an explosion at a coal mine in Shaanxi Province, China, on Monday 21 August 2023. The incident took place at the Xintai Coal Mine close to the city of Yan'An, about 900 km to the southeast of Beijing, at 8.26 pm local time. Ninety people are reported to have been below ground at the time of the evacuation, most of whom were evacuated safely, although two later died of injuries sustained in the explosion, and nine miners who failed to escape from the mine were later found dead by rescue teams. Another eleven people are still being treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the explosion; all are reported to be in a stable condition.

An aerial photograph of the Xintai Coal Mine in Yan'An, Shaanxi, taken on 22 August 2023. Xinhau.

Coal is formed when buried organic material, principally wood, in heated and pressurised, forcing off hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water) and leaving more-or-less pure carbon. Methane is formed by the decay of organic material within the coal. There is typically little pore-space within coal, but the methane can be trapped in a liquid form under pressure. Some countries have started to extract this gas as a fuel in its own right. When this pressure is released suddenly, as by mining activity, then the methane turns back to a gas, expanding rapidly causing, an explosion. This is a bit like the pressure being released on a carbonated drink; the term 'explosion' does not necessarily imply fire in this context, although as methane is flammable this is quite likely.

Fire is much feared in coal mines due to this combination of flammable gas and solids, with methane and coal dust both potentially explosive when they come into contact with naked flames. To make matters worse, the limited oxygen supply in mines often means that such fires will involve incomplete combustion, in which all the oxygen is used up, but instead of forming carbon dioxide forms the much more deadly carbon dioxide, with potentially lethal consequences for anyone in the mine.

As coal is comprised more-or-less of pure carbon, and therefore reacts freely with oxygen (particularly when in dust form), to create carbon dioxide and (more-deadly) carbon monoxide, while at the same time depleting the supply of oxygen. This means that subterranean coal mines need good ventilation systems, and that fatalities can occur if these break down. 

Despite attempts to modernise its energy network, China is still reliant on coal for much of its energy, with 400 000 tonnes of coal mined in China in July 2023, and over 200 million tonnes of coal imported each year, most of it from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, the United States, and Russia. China has been trying to reduce its dependence on foreign coal by expanding its own coal industry with new mines such as Xintai, but this has come at the cost of more accidents within the industry. 

An investigation into the cause of the explosion has now begun, with seven people reported to have been arrested, including the mine's owner and a major shareholder.

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How coal worker’s pneumoconiosis resurfaced in American mines.

Dust associated with mining operations is known to be a major cause of lung disease and other serious health problems. The impact of inhaled dust is cumulative, and can lead to a variety of medical conditions, including coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, silicosis, mixed dust pneumoconiosis, dust-related diffuse fibrosis, and progressive massive fibrosis. In response to this, the US introduced strict laws on the control of dust in coal mines in the 1970s, which resulted in a substantial decline in the number of cases of lung disease among mine workers. However, since the mid 1990s the number of miners with lung disease has risen again steadily, with many cases appearing in younger miners, who have worked their entire working lives in mines working with the new, tighter, regulations on dust control.

This re-appearance of mining-related lung diseases has been particularly prevalent in the Appalachian Region, and is thought to be linked to the practice of targeting thin coal seems, which involves cutting a larger amount of non-coal rock, primarily silica (i.e., quartz) and silicate minerals (cyclosilicates, phyllosilicates, tectosilicates, etc.), which are closely associated with lung disease (the body has no way to remove silica once it gets into the lungs, so that even tiny amounts of these minerals build up over time leading to severe health problems). A variety of other factors have also been suggested as possible caused of or contributers to this re-emergence, including duration and level of exposure, mine operation type, coal and rock-strata geological conditions, dust characteristics (i.e., size, shape, mineralogy, elemental content), dust mitigation techniques, mine size, coal rank, and advancements in cutting technologies. 

The rising number of lung disease case appearing in coal miners has raised concerns with regulators and the scientific community, and in 2014 the Mine Safety and Health Administration brought in a number of new regulations, aimed at reducing exposure limits and improving measurement technology and sampling protocols. However, it is unclear if these measures actually tackle the roots of the problem, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have called for research into a number of factors that are likely to be contributing to the problem.

In a paper published in the International Journal of Coal Science Technology on 13 October 2021, Younes Shekarian and Elham Rahimi of the Department of Mineral Engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and the Department of Information Systems at the University of Colorado Denver, Naser Shekarian of the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, Mohammad Rezaee, also of the Department of Information Systems at the University of Colorado Denver, and Pedram Roghanchi, also of the Department of Mineral Engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, publish the results of a study which aimed to assess five separate hypotheses about the prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis in American mines, namely (1) that workers in underground mines are more likely to developing coal worker’s pneumoconiosis than those in other operations, (2) that geographical location is a contributing factor to the prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, (3) that size of mine could influence the prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis among coal miners, (4) that coal rank contributes to the coal worker’s pneumoconiosis incidence rate, and (5) that coal seam thickness could influence the prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis among coal miners.

Shekarian et al. extracted data from Mine Safety and Health Administration accident/injury and employee/production records. This enabled them to determine the number of cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at each mine, the type of mining caried out there, the number of workers at the mine, the coal production rate, the location of the mine, the coal seem thickness, and the rank of the coal. Each site where at least one instance of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis was recorded was classified as either underground, surface, or other (i.e. augur, milling and preparation plant, office, culm banks, independent shops and yards, surface at underground mine). A total of 21 396 operations were included in the study.

For the purpose of the study, the size of the mines was determined by their number of employees, with mines with less than 50 employees being classified as small, those with between 50 and 100 employees being classified as medium-sized, and those with more than 100 employees being classified as large. Seem width was classified as thin if it was less than 40 inches (101.6 cm) thick, medium if it was between 40 inches and 75 inches (190.5 cm) thick, and thick if it was greater than 75 inches thick. Coal rank was classified as either bituminous or anthracite.

Shekarian et al. found that 93% of the cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis recorded in workers at underground mines occurred in the Appalachian Region, with 4% occurring in the Interior Region and 3% in the Western Region. Furthermore, 80% of the mined where cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis were recorded were classified as small. At a county level, he highest number of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis cases recorded in underground miners occurred in Boone County, Wet Virginia, where there were 946 reported cases. 

The situation at surface mines followed a similar pattern, with 86% of the cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis recorded at surface mines occurring in the Appalachian Region, 9% in the Interior Region, and 5% in the Western Region. This time 86% of the mines where ases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis were recorded were classified as small. The highest number of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis recorded at surface mines in a single county was in Logan County, West Virginia, where there were 175 recorded cases.

Exposure to respirable coal mine dust varies greatly with the type of mining being carried out. Workers at underground mines are at much greater risk of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis due to the limitations of artificial ventilation systems and the confined spaces in which they are working, which typically means they are exposed to much higher levels of respirable coal mine dust. This was reflected in Shekarian et al.'s study, where 76% of cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis reported occurred in underground mineworkers, with 11% of cases reported in workers at surface mines and 13% in workers in other mine operations, mainly mills or preparation plants. Examination of the data chronologically confirmed the drop in the number of cases following the introduction of new tighter regulations in the 1970s, with a sunsequent rise in the number of cases from the 1990s onwards.

 

Number of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis cases as function of (a) mine operation type and (b) year in Unites States during 1986–2018 (total number of cases is 7337). Shekarian et al. (2021).

Geography is known to be a major factor when assessing exposure to respirable coal mine dust, as clusters of mines in different areas are targeting rocks with different geology, that produce different amounts and types of dust. The mines of Central Appalachia, for example, are known to produce more dust sources from non-coal rock strata than mines elsewhere in the US. Correspondingly, previous studies have shown that mineworkers in the eastern region of Appalachian coal field, which includes West Virginia and Pennsylvania, suffer higher rates of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis than miners in other parts of America. 

Shekarian et al. found that, between 1986 and 2018, 106 counties in 16 states reported cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, with the highest number of cases being reported in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. There are thought to be a number of contributing factors behind this, including a higher proportion of silica in respirable coal mine dust, caused by the mines in this region targeting thin coal seems in host rocks with high quarz contents, the smaller size of mining operations here, and a culture of working longer shifts in these mines, resulting in a higher daily exposure to dust.

 

Distribution of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis per state (a) and county (b) for underground, surface, and total data during 1986–2018 in the U.S. Shekarian et al. (2021).

Previous studies have found that mine size is a significant predictor of health issues in mineworkers in the US, with workers at smaller mines having higher rates of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis and abnormal lung functions, and that this is particularly true in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. It has been suggested that this is because smaller mining operations have fewer resources to invest in health and safety measures, and that concentrations of respirable coal mine dust will tend to be higher in smaller mines.

Shekarian et al. found that most mines in the US, both surface and above ground, are small in size (i.e. have less than 50 employees), but that most miners work at large mines (i.e. mines with more than 100 employees). Simply split by size category, a greater number of cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis occurred in miners working at large mines, but that individual miners were more likely to contract coal worker’s pneumoconiosis at smaller mines. 

 

Percentage of underground and surface mines (a) and rate of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (%) (b) per mine size in the U.S. during 1986–2018. Shekarian et al. (2021).

Coal seam thickness is considered to be another contributing factor for a high instance of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, and varies from region to region depending on the local geology. The average coal seam thickness in the Central Appalachian Region is lower than in other regions in the US, and mines in this region which target thin coal seams are known to have a high instance of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis.

Shekarian et al. found that only 11% of US mines targeted thick coal seams, with medium seems being the type most often targeted by underground mines (44%) and thin seams the type most often targeted by surface mines (50%). Furthermore, more underground mines targeting medium coal seams reported cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis than underground mines targeting either thick or thin seams, while more overground mines targeting thick seams recorded cases than mines targeting medium or thin mines, but in both cases the greatest number of cases were reported at mines targeting thin seams.

 

Rate of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (%) by seam thickness and mine size in the U.S. underground (a) and surface (b) mines during 1986–2018. Shekarian et al. (2021).

A connection between coal rank (the carbon content of coal, with anthracitic coals having a higher carbon content and therefore yielding more energy than bituminous or sub-bituminous coals) and the occurrence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis. It has been suggested that the incidence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis is higher among miners working with bituminous coals than those working with anthracitic coals, even where the levels of respirable coal mine dust remain the same. In the Appalachian Region bituminous coals typically have a high quartz content, which may account for this, although it has been suggested that the surface charge of coal dust particles may be different in mines working anthracitic and bituminous coals.

Examination of the available data by Shekarian et al. revealed that the vast majority (95%) of US coal mines target bituminous coals, with only 9 underground and 59 surface mines targeting anthracites in 2018. Around 95% of cases of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis occurred in mines targeting bituminous coals.

 

Number of underground and surface mines (a), and rate of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (%) (b), (c) per coal rank in the U.S. during 1986–2018. Shekarian et al. (2021).

The re-appearance of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis among mineworkers in the US in the 1990s caused alarm among many medical workers and scientists studying the field. A number of studies have looked at different factors which might have led to this resurgence, but until Shekarian et al.'s work, no single study had attempted to look at all the possible causes together. Shekarian et al. collated 33 years of mine safety statistics collected by the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Their findings suggest that mine operation, geographic location, mine size, coal seam thickness, and coal rank all contribute to the health risks for underground mineworkers, while at surface mines the picture is less clear, with mine size, geographic location, coal rank, and seam height playing a role, but the correlation between instances and these factors being somewhat more complicated.

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Sixteen fatalities caused by mine fire in Chongqing, China.

Sixteen miners have died and one is being treated in hospital following a fire at a coal mine in the Municipality of Chongqing in southwest China on Sunday 27 September 2020. The fire is understood to have broken out at the Songzao Mine on a conveyer belt used to carry coal from the excavation front to the surface. This ignited coal dust in the mine, which is more or less pure carbon, which reacted with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce deadly carbon monoxide gas (carbon usually produces carbon dioxide when it burns, but within coal mines, where there is abundant carbon, in a powdered form, and a limited supply of oxygen, then incomplete combustion often occurs, resulting in the formation of the much more deadly carbon monoxide). The cause of the incident is still being investigated, but it is understood that the mine had previously been fined for breached of safety regulations.

 

Rescue workers at the Songzao Coal Mine in Chongqing on Sunday 27 September 2020. Associated Press.

Coal is formed when buried organic material, principally wood, in heated and pressurized, forcing off hydrogen and oxygen (i.e. water) and leaving more-or-less pure carbon. Methane is formed by the decay of organic material within the coal. There is typically little pore-space within coal, but the methane can be trapped in a liquid form under pressure. Some countries have started to extract this gas as a fuel in its own right. When this pressure is released suddenly, as by mining activity, then the methane turns back to a gas, expanding rapidly causing, an explosion. This is a bit like the pressure being released on a carbonated drink; the term 'explosion' does not necessarily imply fire in this context, although as methane is flammable this is quite likely.

Coal is also comprised more or less of pure carbon, and therefore reacts freely with oxygen (particularly when in dust form), to create carbon dioxide and (more-deadly) carbon monoxide, while at the same time depleting the supply of oxygen. This means that subterranean coal mines need good ventilation systems, and that fatalities can occur if these break down.

China gains 70% of its energy from coal-burning power stations, which places the country under great pressure to maintain coal supplies. This has led to a poor safety record within the mining sector, particularly in the private sector, where there is a culture of seeking quick profits in poorly regulated (and sometimes officially non-existent) mines.  However, the Chinese authorities have been making efforts to remedy this situation, introducing safety regulations and closing (or at least attempting to close) mines that fail to comply. Annual deaths in Chinese mines have steadily fallen from 6995 in 2002 to 316 in 2019.

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