Dozens trapped after China coal mine explosion kills 8

As of early Saturday, 201 had been brought safely to the surface.

The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing and an investigation of the accident's cause while holding those responsible accountable, according to Xinhua.

Shanxi is known as China's main coal mining province. With a size larger than Greece and a population of about 34 million, the province's hundreds of thousands of miners dug 1.17 billion tonnes of coal in 2025, or almost a third of China's total.