On December 21, 2023, the government of Jixi City in Heilongjiang Province, China, reported a tragic underground mine cart accident at the Kunyuan Coal Mine in Hengshan District. The incident, which occurred at 3:50 pm on December 20, resulted in 12 fatalities and 13 injuries.
Local authorities have established an investigation team to probe the accident. On the afternoon of December 21, a staff member from the Jixi City Emergency Management Bureau informed Interface News that the accident occurred underground and all the injured have been transported to hospitals for treatment. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
When asked why the incident was reported a day later, the staff member explained that on December 20, efforts were focused on rescue operations, and it was only confirmed today how many had died, leading to the timely report.
Public records indicate that inclined shaft runaway accidents, where mine carts lose control and plummet down the shaft during lifting or lowering, are a type of incident that poses significant risks to human safety. If the mine air contains flammable gases or substances, the uncontrolled carts can produce sparks when they crash or damage electrical equipment, potentially causing explosions and endangering workers.
According to the Tianyancha APP, Kunyuan Coal Mine, operated by Jixi City Kunyuan Coal Industry Co., Ltd., was established in 2010 with Ma Juncheng as its legal representative. The company is primarily engaged in coal mining and processing. In recent years, it has been penalized multiple times by the Jixi City Coal Production Safety Administration Bureau for violating various safety production regulations.
On May 8, 2016, the Kunyuan Coal Mine experienced a collision between coal carts, resulting in one death and direct economic losses of 702,000 yuan.
In October 2023, the Hengshan District government in Jixi City emphasized coal mine safety production to the local coal mining enterprises, focusing on "risk prevention and safety assurance." The district government stressed the importance of strengthening major risk assessments and maintaining a regulatory and supervisory mechanism that includes "analysis, regular consultations, timely warnings, and enforcement of implementation." They aimed to issue early warnings, guide mines in implementing preventive measures, and prevent significant accidents.
In light of the safety production deployment, a dispatcher from the Kunyuan Coal Mine, where the recent accident occurred, had stated that as a coal enterprise, it is crucial to strictly implement the primary responsibility for safety production. They emphasized the need to enhance awareness, remain vigilant, continuously address issues, and tightly control safety. The goal is to comprehensively identify and manage safety risks, address potential accident hazards, strictly prevent safety production accidents, and create a safe environment in the coal sector of Hengshan District.
