A blast at one coal mine in eastern Ukraine and an elevator collapse at another killed at least 21 people and injured 11 on July 29, the Associated Press reported citing officials. Nine miners are still missing following the blast and eight are missing after Makiivka mine accident.
The twin accidents in eastern mining regions shocked the country and highlighted the persistent dangers of the local mining industry, believed to be one of the world’s most dangerous because of outdated equipment and widespread disregard for safety regulations.
Rescuers were looking for nine miners missing after a powerful pre-dawn blast at the Suhodilska-Eastern mine in the Luhansk region that killed 17 workers and injured three others.
The explosion in the early hours of July 29 morning was the deadliest since 2007, when a methane blast at a nearby mine killed more than 100 people, Reuters reported.
Emergency Situations Ministry photos showed worried relatives of the miners talking nervously to officials and rescue workers outside the mine’s headquarters, as medical and emergency trucks were parked nearby.
The Suhodilska-Eastern mine is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man. It is a part of Akhmetov’s Krasnodonugol (Krasnodonvuhillia in Ukrainian) coal company, which is a leading coal producer in Ukraine and operates a handful of mines.
In turn, Krasnodonugol is a part of Akhmetov’s Metinvest steel holding, the largest steel producer in Ukraine.
In operation since 1980, the blast-hit Suhodilska-Eastern mine accounts for a quarter of Krasnodonugol’s output, which was 5.4 million tons in 2009.
Senior government officials arrived early July 29 at the mine hit by the explosion and were working to establish the cause of the accident.
President Viktor Yanukovych was also expected to fly to the site later in the day, according to his office. Akhmetov, a lawmaker who rarely shows up for work in parliament, is a longtime political backer of Yanukovych.
Regional authorities suspect the accident was caused by a powerful explosion of methane. The blast hit the mine shortly before 2 a.m. Friday at a depth of 915 meters (3,000 feet) when miners were working the night shift.
Mykhailo Volynets, the head of the Independent Trade Union of Miners, called the Suhodilska-Eastern mine “one of the most dangerous in Ukraine” due to buildups of methane and coal dust. According to Reuters, 58 people were killed in 1992 in a methane explosion at the same mine. A massive fire reportedly occurred at the mine in June.
Akhmetov’s Metinvest claims to have invested heavily into the Suhodilska-Eastern mine in recent years, installing above-and-below ground methane extraction systems, in turn burning the gas to produce energy for the mine.
The pilot project helped the group cut down on pollutant emissions and raise funds under the Kyoto Protocol.
Akhmetov’s Krasnodonugol pledged on Friday to give Hr 1 million ($125,000) to the families of miners that lost their live in the accident.
Hours after the blast, an accident hit another mine in eastern Ukraine.
An elevator used to transport miners and equipment into and out of the Bazhanova mine in the eastern Donetsk region collapsed, killing four workers and injuring eight others.
Scores of other miners were trying to leave through emergency exists and pathways, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova told the Associated Press.
According to Reuters, Ukraine produced more than 75 million tons of energy and coking coal last year, but has been plagued by accidents caused by poor infrastructure and lax safety regulations.
Volynets said that 70 percent of the equipment at Ukrainian mines is outdated and urgently needs replacement.
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