In the city of Pingdingshan in central China’s Henan Province, an accident in a coal mine on Friday afternoon resulted in the death of eight people and the disappearance of eight others, according to local authorities on Saturday.
The city’s emergency management agency reported that as of 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, out of the 45 people remaining in the mine, eight were confirmed dead and eight were still missing. The remaining people were all reported to be safe.
The incident occurred at 2:55 p.m. on Friday at a coal mine owned by the Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining Co., Ltd. Initial investigations suggested that the accident was caused by a coal and gas outburst.
A total of 425 individuals were working underground at the time of the accident, with 380 of them having been successfully evacuated from the mine.
Rescue efforts are still ongoing, and those responsible for the coal mine have been detained by public security authorities.
