On 11 February methane exploded at the Vorkutinskaya mine in Vorkuta, Northern Russia. The explosion happened 800 metres deep, 259 miners were present there. 26 of them worked in the section where the accident took place. 19 miners died and 3 were injured in the explosion. One of the injured miners was rushed to the Moscow hospital on the Emergency Control Ministry airplane. Currently his state is stabilized. Two other injured workers will soon be released from hospital, according to the medics.
Representatives of the Russian Independent Coal Employees’ Union (Rosugleprof) were included in the commission to investigate the causes of the tragedy.
Russian authorities allocated 20 million roubles (670,000 USD) from the emergency fund to compensate the families of the deceased. People in Vorkuta held a moment of silence in reverence of the 19 miners who died in the explosion.
On 18 February Russian authorities held a working session on the health and safety in the mining industry, headed by the Minister for Energy Alexander Novak. Representatives of Rosugleprof also took part in this session. As a result of the meeting, various instructions were given to the ministries and coal companies, including the demand to monitor the implementation of the industry agreement in the sector.
IndustriALL General Secretary Jyrki Raina expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased miners.
"Fatal incidents like this call for urgent measures to improve safety in coal mines around the world," noted Raina.