Mining Tragedy Russia's Deadliest Since 2010, In Same Area

Siberian authorities have put five persons in detention for two months in connection with the mining tragedy that killed more than 50 people earlier this week, reports the Siberian Times.

It has been announced that three supervisors of the Listvyazhnaya coal mine have been sentenced to stay in detention until the end of January on allegations of violating industrial safety regulations. The court also ordered two safety inspectors, who had granted a certificate for the mine this month but had not inspected the site, to stay in detention until the end of January. An explosion of methane is believed to have killed 51 individuals, including five rescuers who had been sent to rescue a group of men trapped deep beneath.

The incident at the Listvyazhnaya mine early Thursday blasted smoke into the ventilation system, soon filling the underground with 285 people. Two hundred thirty-nine miners were rescued; 49 of them were wounded. Saturday, the Emergencies Ministry said that all five miners’ remains had been located and recovered.

According to RIA news agency reports, the regional governor added that the miners’ identities had been preliminarily ascertained and that their families had been called to identify the dead officially.

According to a high-ranking regional official, rescuers have discovered a survivor in a Siberian coal mine where scores of workers are thought dead after a horrific methane explosion.

On the messaging app Telegram, Kemerovo area governor Sergei Tsivilyov said that one person survived the Listvyazhnaya mine in southwest Siberia. Mr. Zakovryashin, who had been thought to be dead, was recognized as the survivor by acting emergency minister Alexander Chupriyan. When rescuers arrived on the scene, Zakovryashin was aware but in critical condition with moderate carbon monoxide poisoning. Fifteen people have died in the mining disaster, including 11 workers and three rescuers who perished while looking for more trapped miners in a remote area. On Friday morning, six additional dead were found, bringing the number of missing individuals to 31. Authorities now believe that 51 people were killed.

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On Saturday, Russia’s Health Ministry confirmed that 60 individuals had been sent to the hospital for injuries incurred at the mine.

Russia’s most extraordinary mining accident since 2010 occurred in the Raspadskaya coal mine in the Kemerovo area when 91 people were killed by explosions in 2010. Thursday’s blast was not the first fatality at the Listvyazhnaya mine, as previously reported. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, thirteen miners lost their lives in a methane explosion in 2004. As of now, it seems to be the worst mining disaster in Russia since the Raspadskaya mine disaster of 2010, which claimed the lives of 91 workers.

A series of methane explosions killed 36 laborers at a coal mine in Russia’s far north in 2016. Twenty of the country’s 58 coal mines were deemed potentially hazardous after the event, which prompted an investigation into the safety of the mines. According to media sources, a methane explosion at the Listvyazhnya mine killed 13 people in 2004; however, the mine was not on the list.

Meduza, Russia’s leading independent news site, stated that the mine was fined more than 4 million rubles (approximately $53,000) for safety infractions throughout this year. On Friday, law enforcement authorities reported that mine workers had complained about the excessive quantity of methane. Officials in the region have proclaimed three days of mourning, while Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into possible safety breaches. Two of the mine’s top executives, including the director, were taken into custody.

On Friday, a criminal investigation was opened into claims that state authorities who examined the mine earlier this month were irresponsible.