Fires and explosions

Citation

(2008), "Fires and explosions", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 17 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2008.07317ead.006

Fires and explosions

Article Type: Disaster database From: Disaster Prevention and Management, Volume 17, Issue 5

8 September 2006 Gold Mine, Chita Region, Siberia, Russia

Emergency workers located the bodies of 11 miners killed when a fire tore through a Siberian gold mine, officials said today. Another 22 were still missing a day after the blaze. A total of 15 miners were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, said Yulia Stadnikova, a spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry. Stadnikova said the fire, which burned at a depth of between 85 metres and 130 metres, was contained yesterday evening, but rescue efforts were being hampered by damage and smoky conditions. Specialized mine rescue teams were being flown to the scene. Of the 64 miners working underground when the fire broke out, 31 were rescued or evacuated, including the 15 who were hospitalized. Mikhail Stukov, a top Chita emergency official, said in comments televised yesterday that the fire may have been caused by negligence during welding work.

9 September 2006

Rescuers pumped fresh air into smoke-choked shafts in the hope that 21 miners were still alive more than a day after a fire erupted at a 105-year-old Siberian gold mine, killing at least 12 workers in Russia’s worst gold mining accident in years. Emergency workers recovered the bodies of the 12 miners from the Darasun mine in the Chita region, state safety watchdog Rostekhnadzor said yesterday. Fifteen miners, some of the 31 who made it to the surface within hours after the blaze broke out Thursday, were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Stadnikova said. About 120 rescue workers were exploring underground tunnels in search for ways to reach the missing, the agency said.

9 September 2006

At least 21 miners are now known to have died after a fire in a gold mine in Russia which broke out on Thursday (September 7), according to local officials. Five bodies were brought out of the mine late today. The fate of another four miners is still unknown. The blaze broke out between 85 metres and 130 metres below ground in the Darasun mine in Chita, eastern Siberia. A total of 39 miners are known to have survived, of whom eight escaped after two days inside the mine. They were greeted by relatives before being rushed to hospital to check for hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. The cause of the fire is not yet clear, though one report said it was set off by welding work. Of the 64 miners underground when the fire took hold on Thursday, 31 crawled out within hours. Rescue teams arrived today at the mine, which is about 4,700 km east of Moscow, Russian emergency officials said. Another three miners emerged unaided today and helped rescuers to locate five more colleagues.