News posted by www.newsinfoline.com
Rescue teams re-entered one of Russia's largest coal mines on Sunday in a bid to find 83 people trapped underground by two methane explosions after a build up of gas halted the search for most of the day, officials said.Twelve people died and another 41 were injured in two methane explosions at the Raspadskaya mine in Siberia's coal-rich Kemerovo region 3,000 km (1,850 miles) east of Moscow late on Saturday, the Emergencies Ministry said.Sixty-four miners and 19 rescuers were unaccounted for underground over 24 hours after the first explosion just before midnight (1700 GMT) on Saturday. Both explosions were caused by methane gas build-up, the ministry said."The situation is clearly serious," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a televised video conference with rescue leaders. "We need to do everything technically possible so the mine is ventilated in the shortest possible time."Rescue operations involving over 500 people were suspended early on Sunday because of dangerous conditions and fears of further explosions."The rescue effort has restarted. Four (new) teams have been sent into the mine," Valery Korchagin, a regional emergency official said late on Sunday. Russian news agencies said the teams were hoping to rescue five people trapped in one part of the mine.CONTACT LOSTEmergency workers were trying to pump air into the mine to disperse the build-up of methane, officials said.Rescued miners were earlier led to ambulances with blood-stained clothes as crying relatives gathered nearby, television pictures showed. Smoke poured from the burned remains of an administrative building destroyed in the second explosion."Tell us the truth ... there's likely no one alive", a relative was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. "Let those who want to go inside (the mine)," shouted another, the mother of a 25-year-old miner with a newborn son.Itar-Tass quoted a source at the company that owns the mine, also called Raspadskaya, as saying contact with the 19 emergency workers in the mine -- three rescue teams -- had been lost and their fates were unknown.At least 13 of the rescued miners were hospitalised in serious condition, the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement. Around 300 people emerged from the mine after the first explosion, the statement said.Local prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into possible safety violations, the statement said.The deadly mine drama marred weekend celebrations of the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two, whose centrepiece was a military parade in Moscow's Red Square on Sunday with Russian and foreign leaders watching.The mine in the city of Mezhdurechensk had reserves of some 450 million tons of coal and produced 8.9 million tons in 2007, according to the Raspadskaya company. It says the pit is the largest underground mine in Russia.Raspadskaya, Russia's largest standalone coking coal producer, is part-owned by steel and mining firm Evraz Group.Mine explosions and other industrial accidents have prompted repeated calls from Russia's leaders for improvements to creaking infrastructure and stricter adherence to safety rules. Kremlin critics say little has been done.(Writing by Steve Gutterman and Conor Humphries; editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)((steve.gutterman@thomsonreuters.com; +7 495 775-1242))
News posted by www.newsinfoline.com
Click here to read more news from www.newsinfoline.com
Please follow our blogs
newsinfolinephotogallery
prabugallery
newsinfolinephotogallery1
photogallery1
No comments:
Post a Comment