A high-ranking Vietnamese official has sent condolences to China, on behalf of his government, after a devastating gas explosion that resulted in the tragic loss of life.

According to sources at Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a letter dated November 25 to Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs, conveyed Vietnam’s sympathy over the economic loss China has suffered at its Xinxing Coal Mine in the northeast province of Heilongjiang after the accident on November 21.

According to Xinhua, the blast killed 87 people and left 21 others missing./.