BBC at the site of China’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade

At least 82 people were killed and two others were missing after an explosion at a coal mine in northern China, officials said.

The gas explosion at the Liushenyu Coal Mine was the worst mining disaster in China since 2009, and Chinese President Xi Jinping said no effort should be spared in the search and rescue operation.

Early Sunday morning, rescue teams deployed mine inspection robots equipped with gas sensors and infrared cameras underground, state media reported.

BBC’s China correspondent Stephen McDonell is at the scene of the explosion in Shanxi province.