Explosion in a mine in Serbia; There are dead and injured; Miners trapped

Explosion in a mine in Serbia; There are dead and injured; Miners trapped

Methane is reported to have exploded.

As RTS unofficially finds out, there are injured and dead miners.

The explosion occurred in the early morning hours.

"Novosti" states, referring to its findings, that 20 miners were trapped in the shaft. A rescue operation is underway, and ten miners have been pulled out so far.

Eight miners were killed and 20 were injured, said the director of the Aleksinac Health Center, Rodobljub Zivadinovic. The media also announce that 58 miners were saved.

The Aleksinac Ambulance confirmed that they had sent four teams to take care of the injured.

"A shift in which there were about 60 miners was in the mine in time of accident. The first 5-6 miners who were at the entrance to the mine were saved. It is feared that more than 40 were buried. The families of the miners are already gathering at the Health Center," said the source to daily "Kurir".

At the headquarters of the Soko mine in Resavica, they say that they cannot comment on the accident at the moment, as well as that the police are on the spot.

The director of the General Hospital Aleksinac, Goran Vidic, said today that 18 miners were transferred to that hospital after the accident in the brown coal mine - three with severe injuries, and the rest with minor injuries.

As he stated, two miners have elbow injuries, and one a fracture of five ribs, but they are all out of danger. "All patients who are not urgent and have not scheduled operations have been released, we have mobilized other wards in the building. At the moment, we have no problem with capacities," Vidic told RTS. He stated that he received information from the mine management that 49 miners worked in the shift.

The director of the Clinical Center Nis, Zoran Perišić, stated that two miners, who have chest fractures, have been hospitalized in that health institution so far. Perisic said that it is expected for the Clinical Center Nis to receive between 20 and 30 miners during the day, and states that the institution can take care of so many patients.

There are currently four teams from the Aleksinac Health Center on the field, and according to unofficial information, teams from Zajecar and Knjazevac are helping out.

He added that he informed the director of the Clinical Center Nis that there was a possibility that part of the miners would be transferred there. "The situation here is difficult, there are also relatives, people are upset. Unfortunately, this is not our first accident. Aleksinac and its surroundings are known for that, it has happened again now," says Vidic.

The most dangerous mine; tragedy after tragedy

The "Soko" mine is one of the most dangerous mines for work in which explosions have occurred several times and where dozens of miners have lost their lives, Blic writes.

In that mine, 15 miners were killed in a methane explosion in 1974 as well. A year later, five miners were killed in an explosion of gas and materials. A methane explosion claimed the lives of 29 miners in 1998, while 27 were injured. There is always methane in the pit of this mine, which makes it one of the most dangerous mines for work in Serbia. Methane has insidious properties, it cannot be seen or smelled, and it is very flammable and explosive.

Therefore, the mine has a system for monitoring the concentration of methane in the air, which, if that gas exceeds the allowed limit, shuts down all devices so as not to cause an explosion.