Vigilance urged

The National Mine Safety Administration has instructed local authorities to implement a recently issued notice on strengthening training for coal mine workers and eliminating safety hazards.

The mine safety administration of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region has sent task forces to inspect all active high-gas mines and address violations such as inadequate gas drainage, operations under excessive gas concentrations, and falsification of monitoring data.

Yunnan province has also urged coal producers and supervisors to maintain vigilance and conduct round-the-clock monitoring.

Guo, the head of the Qinyuan county government, said the accident exposed "serious loopholes and weaknesses" in local governance, including workplace safety supervision, risk identification and rectification, and the fulfillment of corporate responsibilities.

He said the next phase of work would focus on verifying information, communicating with families of the deceased and injured, handling compensation, meeting families' daily needs and conducting forensic examinations.

Authorities will verify the identities, backgrounds, family relationships and household conditions of the victims to ensure accuracy.