SHANXI — A blast at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi on 22 May killed 82 people and injured more than 120 others. The disaster was China's worst coal mining incident in more than 15 years.

Authorities said the mine’s operator, Tongzhou Group, had committed "serious illegal violations," though they did not specify the findings. The company has not responded to the allegations. In the aftermath, officials placed Tongzhou Group’s leadership under "control measures" and suspended operations at its other mines.

State media reported that only half of the workers underground at the time of the explosion were officially registered. Many did not carry mandatory tracking devices, and rescue efforts were hindered by secret tunnels and an inaccurate mine blueprint. "The company did not allow workers to enter the mine with tracking devices because they were illegally mining coal seams that had not been approved. Wearing trackers would expose it," said a worker at the Liushenyu coal mine.

Chen, a former miner who worked at the site for two years, said, "Everyone knew this was a high-methane mine." He added, "It was only a matter of time" until disaster struck. Chen also expressed concern that some miners might still be trapped: "My feeling is there must still be miners inside. The tunnels underground are complicated and criss-crossed. There are hidden mine faces."

Another survivor described the explosion’s force: "The explosion swept to the entrance and knocked all of us down. We could not see anyone; the dust was incredibly thick. After running for more than 10 minutes, my consciousness blurred. I was terrified."

Hong Chen, a professor at Jiangnan University's Institute for National Security and Green Development, stated, "A properly designed coal mine is fully capable of preventing an explosion through systematic safeguards." He added, "Based on the coal mine safety management and technical systems we have in place today, let me be very clear about this: this accident should not have happened."