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Chinese safety official investigated over Liushenyu Coal Mine blast that killed 82
Zhang Heping, deputy director of Shanxi provincial department of emergency management, is accused of ‘serious violations’
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Xinlu Liangin Beijing
A high-ranking workplace safety official in central China’s Shanxi province has been placed under investigation over a massive coal mine explosion that killed 82.
Zhang Heping, deputy director of the provincial department of emergency management, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law”, according to a statement released by the provincial discipline inspection and supervisory commission late on Wednesday.
The provincial anti-corruption watchdog explicitly linked Zhang to the devastating gas explosion last month at the Liushenyu Coal Mine, operated by the Tongzhou Group, the statement said.
The disaster – China’s deadliest mining accident in over a decade – occurred on May 22 at a facility in Qinyuan county, under the jurisdiction of the city of Changzhi. The underground blast killed 82 miners, with another two missing and a further 128 injured.
Preliminary investigations exposed systemic safety failures, illegal mining practices and chronic mismanagement at the site, prompting direct intervention from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who demanded a thorough investigation and rigorous accountability.
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