Emergency response personnel arrive at the scene following a fire at an office building of a coal mine in the city of Lüliang in North China's Shanxi Province on November 16, 2023. Photo: VCG.

The police have taken criminal coercive measures against 13 individuals related to a fire at an office building belonging to a coal mine in North China's Shanxi Province, which has killed 26 and hospitalized 38 people on Thursday, according to Shanxi government officials at a press conference on Friday.

The Work Safety Committee of China's State Council will send a working group to Shanxi to monitor the whole process of the investigation into the cause of the fire and punishment of those responsible. The State Council said that despite the total number of accidents in China dropping in 2023, there has been an obvious rebound in the number of severe accidents.

Appointed by President Xi Jinping, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing traveled to Shanxi Province on Thursday afternoon to guide the rescue operation and emergency response.

Zhang, who led relevant departments from within the State Council, entered the office building that broke out in flames to inspect the scene of the blaze. He then visited the First People's Hospital of Lüliang to meet the injured, urging medical staff to work around the clock to treat the injured. 

Zhang held a meeting on Thursday evening with officials from Shanxi provincial and Lüliang city governments, saying that President Xi, who is currently overseas, expressed great con-cern over the accident and had issued clear requirements on attending to the injured, post-incident care and consolation, accident investigation, and inspection of potential hazards. 

Zhang emphasized the need to organize medical experts and ad-vanced medical equipment to ensure that every injured individual receives scientific treatment and meticulous care, asking relevant department to provide media updates and to proactively respond to the public concerns.

Among the 38 injuries in hospital, there are three people in critical condition and four in serious conditions, said the National Health Commission (NHC) on Thursday evening as quoted by the People's Daily.

The current focus of treatment is on improving oxygen deficiency and maintaining vital signs, said Qin Ruiqi, deputy dean of the First People's Hospital of Lüliang. Qin said that the hospital received the first batch of the injured at about 7:17 am on Thursday and organized more than 40 doctors and nurses from several departments for the emergency rescue. 

The NHC said it organized a remote consultation for the treatment of the admitted patients on Thursday afternoon, involving 11 experts on critical care, respiratory medicine, trauma, and digestive diseases from the National Center for Respiratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Chinese Burn Association.

The NHC's emergency department has also led a team of respiratory and critical care experts from the National Center for Respiratory Medicine to Lüliang. Together with local medical workers, they formed an expert team to facilitate one-to-one treatment plans.

Zhang also stressed the need to conduct a thorough and rigorous investigation into the direct causes of the fire and the institutional and managerial shortcomings exposed by the incident. 

The local emergency management bureau said on Thursday evening that all mining enterprises have suspended production to inspect and rectify hidden risks.

Zhang said governments in other Chinese regions should also take lessons and focus on key industries such as coal mining, firefighting, and gas in the winter to avoid various safety risks and hazards.