Rescue efforts continued on Sunday after a gas explosion hit Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county of Changzhi, North China's Shanxi Province at 7:29 pm on Friday.

A total of 82 people have been confirmed dead, with two still missing and 128 injured.

The disaster at the Shanxi Tongzhou coal mine has drawn national attention as rescuers pressed ahead with search operations amid complex underground conditions, and the risk of secondary hazards. At the same time, growing scrutiny is being directed at the company's production safety management.

The gas explosion took place when more than 200 people were down the shaft, according to the county's emergency management bureau.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged all-out rescue of the missing and treatment of the injured, and demanded a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance with the law, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that authorities across the country must learn lessons from the accident, remain vigilant on workplace safety, and intensify efforts to identify and eliminate potential risks in order to prevent major accidents.

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, led a team to the site to oversee the rescue efforts and the handling of the accident's aftermath, Xinhua reported.

Local officials said on Saturday that 128 injured people were rescued. Of these, 124 sustained minor injuries, two were seriously injured and two remained in critical condition, all of whom are receiving treatment at Changzhi People's Hospital. The latest reports indicate that the patients are in stable condition, and 124 patients with minor injuries had been transferred to tertiary hospitals for close observation and treatment, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 35 escaped unharmed, according to Xinhua.

The province has sent 755 people including rescuers and medical personnel to the site. The Ministry of Emergency Management earlier said it had dispatched six national mine emergency rescue teams, totaling 345 people, to assist in rescue efforts, Xinhua reported.

The rescue operation on Sunday focused on locating the two people still missing. Yang Yang, deputy head of the Shanxi Huayang branch team of the national mine emergency rescue Force, told the Global Times that the explosion caused partial collapses in underground tunnels, leaving debris and damaged structures that have complicated the search.

Accumulated water underground and ventilation problems in some sections have further increased the difficulty and risks facing rescue teams, Yang said.

Following the accident, several professional mine rescue teams have been taking turns entering the mine to search for the missing in flooded tunnels near the blast site. Rescuers found visible ground collapses in two underground tunnels and had to build temporary bridges to move forward, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

The operation has been further complicated by discrepancies between the maps provided by Liushenyu coal mine and the actual underground layout. Rescuers discovered two previously unmarked tunnels at the site and are continuing to check whether there are more hidden passages nearby. More than one kilometer of flooded tunnel near the explosion site still needs to be searched, adding to the difficulty and complexity of the ongoing rescue operation, CCTV noted.

According to the rescue command center for the Liushenyu coal mine explosion in Shanxi, the priority on Sunday is to conduct repeated underground search operations, particularly re-searching areas that have already been covered, to ensure no location is missed.

Rescuers early on Sunday deployed mine inspection robots underground to assist search efforts. The robots are equipped with gas sensors and real-time cameras, enabling it to enter areas inaccessible to rescuers to collect data and information. Rescue personnel also descended into the mine to operate the robots underground, Xinhua reported.

The most pressing technical challenge facing rescuers is preventing a secondary explosion. The initial blast may have left open flames and high-temperature spots underground, while gas continues to seep from coal seams. With the mine's ventilation system damaged, the gas cannot be effectively dispersed, creating a highly volatile environment in which gas and ignition sources could come into contact again at any time, Hu Qianting, a professor from school of Resources and Safety Engineering of Chongqing University, told that Global Times.

Rescuers must first focus on locating and extinguishing fire sources while ensuring the safety of rescue teams. Large-scale search and rescue operations can only begin once fire hazards are brought under control and underground gas concentrations are reduced to safe levels, Hu said.

Shanxi Province activated its medical emergency response mechanism, coordinating local medical resources and dispatching provincial medical experts to assist frontline rescue and treatment efforts.

China's National Health Commission organized multidisciplinary remote consultations involving trauma and intensive care specialists from Peking University People's Hospital and respiratory experts to optimize treatment plans. Three specialists from Beijing were also dispatched to the scene to support rescue and treatment efforts, per Xinhua.

Multiple countries including Russia, South Korea Egypt, Canada, Pakistan, India and Japan have conveyed their condolences to the victims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday expressed condolences. "Please convey my sympathy and support to the families of the deceased miners, as well as my best wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured," Putin said, according to the Kremlin.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov on Saturday said he learned "with deep sorrow" about the loss of life caused by the explosion. "On behalf of the people of the Kyrgyz Republic and on my own behalf, I express my sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, sharing their grief at their loss, and I also wish a speedy recovery to all those injured," Zhaparov said, according to the Kyrgyz presidential press service.

South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung wrote in Korean and Chinese on X that "Upon learning of the gas explosion accident at a coal mine in Shanxi Province, China, which has caused significant casualties, I feel profound regret and sorrow. I hope that, through the efforts of the Chinese government and relevant departments, this incident will be properly handled at an early date."

In a meeting at the on-site command center, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, ordered a thorough investigation and strict accountability after the accident and urged authorities to mobilize professional forces to carry out scientific search and rescue operations with all-out efforts while preventing secondary casualties, per Xinhua.

China's State Council investigation team should conduct a rigorous and uncompromising investigation into the explosion to thoroughly identify the cause of the accident, determine the responsibilities of local authorities, industry regulators and the enterprise involved, and impose strict penalties in accordance with laws and regulations, Zhang said.

Changzhi held a press conference on Saturday to brief the public. Participants at the press conference stood in silence to mourn the victims. Chen Xiangyang, deputy Party chief and mayor of Changzhi, said preliminary assessments indicate that the coal mine company involved committed serious violations of laws and regulations, according to the People's Daily.

Calling the accident "extremely serious" and its lessons "profoundly painful," Chen said Changzhi would draw lessons from the tragedy, conduct a thorough review, and launch a citywide campaign to identify and rectify workplace safety risks, with coal mines as the top priority.

Xinhua reported on Saturday that the persons responsible for the company involved in the mine accident are under investigation in accordance with the law, local authorities said.

A report by CCTV on Sunday showed that a board recording underground personnel indicated that 124 people had entered the mine at the time of the explosion. However, after verification by multiple parties, the actual number of people underground was found to be 247, with 123 individuals lacking valid information in the system.

Public records show that Liushenyu Coal Mine has a designed annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons and is classified as a high-gas mine. In 2024, the National Mine Safety Administration included four coal mines under Tongzhou Group on its list of operating coal mines facing serious disaster risks, including high gas levels and coal-and-gas outburst hazards. Among them was Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry Co. All four Tongzhou Group coal mines have now been ordered to suspend production for rectification, according to CCTV.

Moreover, a WeChat account affiliated with China Emergency Management News disclosed that 247 workers had entered the mine, but 103 of them were not carrying underground positioning cards. The maps submitted by the mine operator did not match the actual tunnel layout. The lack of personnel positioning data and accurate underground maps posed some of the biggest difficulties for the rescue operation. Some areas encountered by rescuers were not marked at all, forcing the command center to send in additional teams to conduct repeated tunnel-by-tunnel searches.

Hu said China's coal mine gas-monitoring technology and regulatory framework are already relatively mature, with systems designed to automatically sound alarms and transmit real-time data to local regulators once gas levels exceed limits. However, technology alone cannot guarantee safety. Its effectiveness depends on proper installation, truthful data collection and strict compliance with safety procedures.

If companies evade supervision or put output and profit above safety, even advanced monitoring systems cannot prevent accidents. The key lies in enforcement, accountability and a genuine safety-first approach, Hu said, noting that as economic and social development advances, public expectations for safety will only continue to rise. Safety is never a finished task; it requires constant vigilance and continuous improvement.

A commentary published by the People's Daily on Sunday said that every accident should serve as a warning. Authorities at all levels must draw lessons from such tragedies, strengthen bottom-line and worst-case thinking, and always keep workplace safety at the forefront.

Safety must be secured in the process of development, and development must be pursued on the foundation of safety. Only with an unwavering sense of responsibility and constant vigilance over every link in workplace safety can the peace and well-being of millions of families be protected, read the article.