In this photo released by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry on November 25, 2021, rescuers prepare to work at the scene of a fire at a coal mine near the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles) from Moscow, Russia. miles) to the east. A fire at a coal mine in Siberia has killed nine people and injured 44 others, Russian authorities said. Dozens of others are still trapped.
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In this photo released by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry on November 25, 2021, rescuers prepare to work at the scene of a fire at a coal mine near the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles) from Moscow, Russia. miles) to the east. Russian authorities say a fire at a coal mine in Siberia has killed nine people and injured 44 others. Dozens of others are still trapped.
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MOSCOW – A devastating fire swept through a coal mine in Siberia on Thursday, killing 52 miners and rescuers 250 meters (820 feet) underground, Russian news reports said.
Hours after a methane explosion and flames emitting toxic smoke in the mine, rescuers found 14 bodies but were later forced to halt the search for another 38 because of a buildup of methane gas. and high concentrations of carbon monoxide fumes from the fire.
The state news agencies Tass and RIA-Novosti quoted emergency officials as saying there was no chance of finding any survivors.
The Interfax news agency quoted a representative of the regional government, who also put the death toll in Thursday’s fire at 52, as saying they died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
A total of 285 people were at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Kemerovo region of southwestern Siberia when a fire broke out and smoke quickly enveloped the mine through the ventilation system. Rescuers brought 239 miners to the surface, 49 of them injured, and found 11 bodies.
Later in the day, six rescue workers also died while searching for others trapped in a remote area of the mine, reports said.
Regional officials announced three days of mourning.
Russia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Dmitry Demeshin told reporters that the fire was most likely caused by a methane explosion caused by a spark.
Methane explosions released from coal beds during mining are rare but they cause the most deaths in the coal mining industry.
The Interfax news agency reports that miners have an oxygen supply that usually lasts for six hours and can only last a few more hours.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into the breach of safety regulations that led to the death. It said the mine director and two senior managers were detained.
President Vladimir Putin offered condolences to the families of those killed and asked the government to provide all necessary assistance to the injured.
In 2016, 36 miners were killed in a series of methane explosions at a coal mine in Russia’s northernmost region. After the incident, authorities analyzed the safety of 58 of the country’s coal mines and declared 20 of them, 34 percent, potentially unsafe.
According to media reports, the Listvyazhnaya mine was not among them at that time.
Russia’s state ecological and technological watchdog, Rostekhnadzor, inspected the mine in April and recorded 139 violations, including violations of fire safety regulations.
