Just a few days after a coal mine collapsed and prompted a continuous statewide safety inspection, at least five workers were murdered when the roof of a mine collap

Just a few days after a coal mine collapsed and prompted a continuous statewide safety inspection, at least five workers were murdered when the roof of a mine collapsed in southwest China on Sunday.

A portion of the roof collapsed on 25 miners who were working underground in a mine in the Sichuan province. According to China's emergency management bureau, five people were killed, three people were injured, and the remaining four people managed to flee.

Meanwhile, rescue operations went on in a different open-pit coal mine in the nation's north, where more than 40 people are still buried beneath debris. The incident last week at the Alxa League site in the Inner Mongolia region, which is run by Xinjiang Coal Mining, resulted in at least six fatalities.

Even though there is less and less chance that the trapped miners will survive, hundreds of firefighters, rescuers, and pieces of heavy equipment have been mobilized to continue the search.

Investigations are being conducted to determine what caused the mine wall to collapse six days ago, and an undetermined number of people have been detained.

In addition to ordering inspections and safety upgrades at other mines in the Inner Mongolia region, which is home to coal miners and other rare earth elements, President Xi Jinping has called for an "all-out" rescue operation.

Twenty teams have been sent by the Chinese disaster management ministry to perform inspections across the nation in an effort to stop further mishaps.

The ministry issued a statement on Friday stating that "it is vital to closely regulate the safety of mines, swiftly carry out special rectification of major safety hazards in mines, and deal with large risks and hidden dangers."

Authorities have been tasked with putting a stop to unlawful mining and bad management.

China, the largest coal producer in the world, also heavily relies on coal as its primary source of energy, but despite government mandates, the mines there are among the deadliest in the world due to a lack of safety precautions.

Although the latest round of inspections came at a time when Beijing's economy started its recovery trip following the Covid restriction, previous inspections have interrupted operations and impacted supply.

The National Mine Safety Agency (NMSA) reports that the number of coal mine accidents nearly doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year, with a six-year high death toll of 245.

China's coal production surged by 9% to a record 4.5 billion tonnes last year, as Beijing urged miners to expand output in response to a widespread shortage.

Due to a paucity of coal, the Asian powerhouse experienced a series of blackouts in September 2021 that cut off thousands of homes and enterprises.

According to NMSA data, there were roughly 168 accidents in coal mines in 2022, a sharp increase from the 91 incidents the previous year.

“They ignored safety requirements and rushed to meet the production targets... and even violated operations regulations to run over their designed capacity,” the regulator said.

According to research by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, China approved the upgrading of power capacities across 82 facilities in 2022, bringing the overall increase in capacity to 106 gigawatts, or the equivalent of two large coal plants each week.

The research indicated that the allowed capacity more than quadrupled from 23 gigawatts in 2021.

China conducts nationwide inspections amid second mine disaster in space of a week

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