Changzhi emergency management chief under investigation amid coal mine blast probe

The head of the emergency management authority in Changzhi, Shanxi province, is under investigation for suspected serious violations of Party discipline and national laws, amid an ongoing probe into a deadly coal mine gas explosion, Shanxi provincial anti-corruption authorities said on Monday.

Zhang Wenbo, Party chief and director of the Changzhi Emergency Management Bureau, is undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Shanxi Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and provincial supervisory commission, according to a statement posted on the commission's website.

Zhang oversees the bureau's overall operations, including coal mine safety supervision, hazard inspections, gas disaster prevention, law enforcement, and emergency response across the city.

Following the May 22 gas explosion, Zhang attended a municipal government news conference where he briefed the public on rescue operations and a citywide campaign to strengthen coal mine safety. He pledged to conduct comprehensive checks for major hazards involving gas, ventilation, and safety monitoring systems, and to ensure that regulatory responsibilities were fully implemented.

The gas explosion occurred on May 22 at Liushenyu Coal Mine, operated by Tongzhou Group, in Qinyuan county. It killed 82 people, while two others remain missing.

Following the accident, the State Council established an investigation team headed by the Ministry of Emergency Management. The team was tasked with examining the full chain of responsibility — including possible corporate violations, failures in local oversight, and shortcomings in industry regulation — under the principle that the causes, responsibilities, and lessons of an accident must be fully identified and corrective measures implemented.

The investigation into Zhang was announced two days after Li Haichao, a researcher within the eighth supervision and law enforcement division of the Shanxi Bureau of the National Mine Safety Administration, was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of law linked to the accident.

Since the explosion, six officials from the Shanxi bureau of the national mine safety regulator have been investigated: Hu Haijun, the bureau's Party chief and director; Cui Ruijun, head of its eighth supervision and law enforcement division; and four researchers from the division.

Zhang Heping, deputy director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Emergency Management, has also been placed under investigation.

Six officials who held leadership positions in Changzhi or Qinyuan county have also come under investigation: Wang Yusheng, former vice-mayor of Changzhi who previously served as Party chief of Qinyuan; former Qinyuan Party chief Li Dingfu; then-Qinyuan's Party chief Zhao Yongjin; former Qinyuan county head Lian Shubin; the county's deputy head Wei Xiaoxiang; and director of the county's emergency management bureau Sun Xiaoye.

Several grassroots law enforcement officials have also been investigated.