At least 82 dead in Chinese coal mine explosion, state media reports

The explosion took place at 19:29 local time on Friday at a coal mine in northern China. At least 82 dead in Chinese coal mine explosion, state media reports Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. At least 82 people have been killed in a coal mine blast in northern China with nine people still missing, the country's state media has reported. "Reporters learned from the scene of the gas explosion at the Liushenyu Coal Mine of the Tongzhou Group in Shanxi Province that the accident has resulted in 82 deaths," state news agency Xinhua said. The blast happened at 19:29 local time on Friday (11:29 GMT) at a coal mine in Shanxi, with 247 workers reportedly on duty at the time of the incident. Rescue operations at the site are under way. A map showing the location of Shanxi province in China Following the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for no effort to be spared in efforts to treat the injured and search for survivors. He also asked the government to investigate the cause of the accident and hold those responsible to account. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the It comes after the US charged Raúl Castro with murder, the latest move putting pressure on the regime. It comes as the US weighs whether to proceed with a $14bn arms sales to Taiwan, which China claims as its own. Russia and China showed they were shoulder-to-shoulder on the world stage, but it became clear there are limits, says the BBC's Russia Editor.