Owners of Chinese mine where 82 died in blast accused of ‘serious violations’ of the law

The owners of a Chinese coal mine where at least 82 people were killed have been accused of “serious violations of the law” by the local government.

As search and rescue operations continued through the night, Chen Xiangyang, the deputy party secretary of Changzhi in Shanxi province, said that all four mines operated by the Shanxi Tongzhou Group had been “immediately” ordered to suspend operations.

“Preliminary assessment indicates serious legal violations by the coal mine enterprise involved. We will spare no effort or cost to search for and rescue the missing personnel. The specific cause of the accident is under further investigation,” Chen told a press conference late on Saturday.

More than 120 people needed hospital treatment after Friday’s accident at the Liushenyu Coal Mine, China’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade.

State media reported that most of the injured had been transferred to hospitals in major cities. However, a South China Morning Post reporter at the scene saw that dozens appeared to still be in the county hospital, some with oxygen masks.

Security remained tight at the accident site with more than a dozen police stationed along the roads.