CHINA

Top Provincial Emergency Official Targeted in Probe Over Fatal Coal Mine Disaster

Published: Jun. 11, 2026 2:48 p.m. GMT+8

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Zhang Heping

A catastrophic coal mine explosion that killed 82 people in northern China has triggered a sweeping anticorruption investigation, leading to the downfall of a senior provincial emergency official and several local regulators.

Zhang Heping, deputy director of the Shanxi Emergency Management Department, is being investigated for “serious violations of discipline and law” — the government’s standard euphemism for corruption — the provincial discipline inspection commission announced.

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Coal mine gas explosion in Shanxi killed 82, missing 2, hospitalized 128 – deadliest in over a decade.
Mine had hidden extraction faces, ignored gas alarms, dual monitoring systems; officials now investigated.
Senior official Zhang Heping and multiple local regulators detained; county party chief Zhao Yongjin also under probe.

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Who’s Who

Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry Co. Ltd.: Shanxi Tongzhou Group Liushenyu Coal Industry Co. Ltd. operated the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Qinyuan county, Shanxi. A catastrophic gas explosion on May 22 killed 82 people and left two missing. The mine had chaotic safety management, including ignored gas alarms, hidden extraction faces, and dual blueprints to evade oversight.

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