An estimated 203 miners have been trapped underground after shelling cut electricity lines on Jan. 31 in the Zasyadko mine, an area of Donetsk Oblast controlled by Russian-backed separatists. A rescue operation is currently under way to rescue the miners.
Shelling damaged a power substation, cutting electricity to the mine, the head of Independent Miners Trade Union Mykhailo Volynets told the Kyiv Post. The backup electricity supply also isn’t working, therefore the miners have been trapped in the mine since midnight, said Volynets.
The state-owned mine is located around 20 kilometers from Avdiivka, a city of 35,000 people 700 kilometers southeast of Kyiv where heavy shelling between the two sides has been constant for three days.
The renewed fighting is prompting a humanitarian crisis, with preparations under way for the evacuation of the remaining civilian population.
On the morning of Jan. 31, the management of the mine delivered an electric generator to aid the rescue operation where rescuers are also using their hands and ropes, Volynets said. At the same time, the miners are working to repair the power substation.
Volynets said that this is not the first time miners have been trapped underground because of electricity outages. He said that the mines located on the occupied territories aren’t equipped with the necessary special machinery to rescue the miners. Only the Ukrainian government-controlled territory has such equipment, he said.
