Photo: VIKTOR DRACHEV / AFP / Getty Images
Listed as the worst mining disaster in Russia in the last ten years, a fire in a coal mine in Siberia left at least 52 people, according to the first reports .
According to local media, the tragedy was caused by the explosion of methane gas and a subsequent fire that filled the mine with toxic gases.
Given the situation, participated in the rescue efforts 19 teams of lifeguards, reported Kemerovo Governor Sergei Tsiviliov, who stressed that the operation used “all the resources available to the region.”
The politician explained that at the time of the accident had 239 people inside the Listvyazhnaya mine, in the city of Gramoteino, where numerous coal deposits are located Iferos.
During the operations three rescuers lost their lives. From the first hour it was assumed that the miners had died, since the oxygen supply was very limited, assuming that they had managed to survive the initial explosion.
A total of 239 workers could be evacuated, 49 people had been transferred to the hospital with injuries. Some of the injured had inhaled toxic smoke and four of them were in critical condition.
For their part, it was reported that at least three people, including the mine manager, were arrested for security breaches.
Faced with the tragedy, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his hope that as many people as possible could be rescued alive.
“Unfortunately the situation is not getting any easier. And there is danger to the lives of the rescuers. The necessary decisions are being made on the ground, ”Putin said in a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.
The president also said that a commission will be created to investigate the causes and circumstances of the tragedy. In the same vein, the Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin: “The circumstances of the event will be thoroughly investigated. All those affected by this tragedy will receive the necessary medical, psychological and other assistance ”, he said.
This is the worst mining accident in Russia since 2010, when two methane explosions and a fire left 91 killed in the Raspadskaya mine, also in the Kemerovo region.
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