By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-06-03 08:01:54 | Updated at 2026-06-08 03:21:06
4 days ago
A county-level
Communist Party chief in China’s central Shanxi province was put under disciplinary review, 11 days after a deadly gas explosion at a local mine killed 82 people and left two missing.
Zhao Yongjin, party secretary of Qinyuan county in Changzhi, Shanxi, was “suspected of serious violations of discipline and law”, the Shanxi provincial discipline inspection and supervisory commission, an anti-corruption watchdog, announced on Tuesday night.
The blast took place at the Liushenyu Coal Mine on May 22 and was China’s deadliest mine accident in over a decade.
Later, Changzhi authorities accused mine owners of “serious violations of the law”.
Preliminary investigation results have exposed severe safety fraud at the site, including systemic failures across multiple parts of the production chain.
Workers blame China mine blast on safety breaches
Miners and industry experts previously said the mine appeared to be poorly managed, with workers not properly equipped with safety equipment, illegal mining activities in unmarked territories on its map and several past security fines.
