China: Eight killed and 38 trapped following coal mine accident

On 23 May 2026, a coal mine accident in Shanxi, northern China, killed at least eight people, with 38 trapped, according to early reports from Sky News and the Frankfurter Allgemeine. The death toll then rose to 82, according to China Daily and Handelsblatt, and later to at least 90 after a gas blast, according to The Guardian and Dawn, with more people missing.

Bloomberg called it the deadliest coal mine blast in China since 2009. Search and rescue operations were still underway, and China stepped up its medical response to the explosion.