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Explosion kills at least 66 in Ukrainian coal mine blast

KIEV, Ukraine (March 11, 2000 1:37 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least 66 people and trapping others underground in the former Soviet republic's worst mining disaster since independence.

The blast at the Barakova mine - one of the largest coal industry disasters in recent years - happened shortly after 1 p.m. at a depth of 2,191 feet while 297 people were working in the mine, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

Two hundred miners managed to leave the shaft, it said. At least 66 of the remaining miners were killed, the local emergency headquarters reported. The mine is in Krasnodon, about 530 miles east of Ukraine's capital, Kiev.

Emergency officials said 27 rescue units were trying to save the coal workers.

Ukraine's frequent coal mine accidents are usually caused by methane, a naturally occurring colorless, odorless and highly explosive gas that seeps out of coal seams and can build up easily in poorly ventilated mine shafts.

In April 1998, a methane explosion at a mine in Donetsk, Ukraine's eastern coal capital, killed 63 coal workers in what became the worst mining accident in independent Ukraine. In late May 1999, a methane blast at another mine in Donetsk killed 50 workers.

Ukraine has the world's highest coal industry death rate, blamed largely on outdated and badly functioning equipment and miners' neglect of safety rules. At least 274 miners were killed last year, down from about 360 in 1998, and the death figure this year stood at 45 before Saturday's accident.

Most of Ukraine's more than 400,000 coal workers also do not receive their wages on time, which prompts sporadic strikes.

Last year, 31 miners at Barakova stayed underground in protest for more than two weeks, and some cut their arms and threatened to commit suicide before mine executives agreed to pay their back wages.

Saturday's disaster prompted Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko to postpone his visit to the United States, which was scheduled for March 14-16. The premier set up a government investigative team to look into the accident, his spokeswoman said.

Fuel Minister Serhiy Tulub, Labor Minister Ivan Sakhan and other officials arrived late Saturday in Krasnodon.

Copyright ) 2000 Nando Media Copyright ) 2000 Associated Press

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 11, 2000

Answers

The updated story from AOL news:

Dozens Killed in Ukraine Mine Blast

By SERGEI SHARGORODSKY .c The Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (March 11) - A methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, killing 80 workers and injuring seven in the former Soviet republic's worst mine disaster in decades.

The early afternoon blast at the Barakova mine came at a depth of 2,191 feet while 277 people were working in the mine, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

Nearly 200 miners managed to leave the shaft after the blast, it said.

Vitaly Ageev, senior duty officer at the ministry, said 80 miners were killed and seven were hospitalized after being rescued from the mine, in Krasnodon, about 530 miles east of Ukraine's capital, Kiev. All of the workers in the mine were accounted for.

Thirty-three rescue units were engaged in bringing the bodies to the ground, emergency officials said.

Ukraine's frequent deadly coal mine accidents are often caused by methane, a naturally occurring colorless, odorless and highly explosive gas that seeps out of coal seams and can build up easily in poorly ventilated mine shafts.

In April 1998, a methane explosion at a mine in Donetsk, Ukraine's eastern coal capital, killed 63 coal workers. In May 1999, a methane blast at another mine in Donetsk killed 50 workers.

The number of people killed on Saturday was the highest since at least before 1980, when 66 miners and two rescuers died at the Gorskaya mine in then-Soviet Ukraine.

The country has the world's highest coal industry death rate, blamed largely on outdated and badly functioning equipment and miners' neglect of safety rules. At least 274 miners were killed last year, down from about 360 in 1998, and the death figure this year stood at 45 before the latest accident.

Ukraine's mine elevators are made of rickety wooden planks and rusty wheels, and struggle to haul workers up and down several times a day. A third of the ropes hauling the elevators are well beyond their service time.

Much of eastern Ukraine, once proud of its coal riches, has turned into a wasteland of poverty and environmental destruction. Heaps of coal waste dot the landscape among crumbling mine administration buildings.

Most of Ukraine's more than 400,000 coal workers also do not receive their wages on time, which prompts sporadic strikes.

Last year, 31 miners at Barakova stayed underground in protest for more than two weeks, and some cut their arms and threatened to commit suicide before mine executives agreed to pay their back wages. Barakova miners were also involved in numerous other protests in recent years.

Saturday's disaster prompted President Leonid Kuchma to postpone a visit to Poland, and Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko postponed his visit to the United States, which was scheduled for March 14-16. The premier also decided to head a government investigative team set up to look into the accident, his spokeswoman said.

Fuel Minister Serhiy Tulub, Labor Minister Ivan Sakhan and other officials arrived late Saturday in Krasnodon.

AP-NY-03-11-00 1519EST

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

-- Jen Bunker (jen@bunkergroup.com), March 11, 2000.

Another update, from AOL News, www.aol.com:

Bodies Recovered From Ukraine Mine

By SERGEI SHARGORODSKY .c The Associated Press

KRASNODON, Ukraine (March 12) - Ashen-faced relatives stood in silence beneath a light snow Sunday, watching rescuers coated in coal dust drag up the bodies of 81 people killed in a Ukrainian mine explosion and load them onto refrigerator trucks.

Survivors of the former Soviet republic's worst mine disaster in decades described a confusing burst, a suffocating cloud of coal dust and the sickening smell of smoke before they were brought to the surface.

A preliminary investigation suggested that Saturday's accident was a methane explosion caused by a violation of safety regulations, the Interfax news agency quoted President Leonid Kuchma as saying.

Ukraine's mine accidents are often caused by methane, a naturally occurring, odorless and highly explosive gas that seeps out of coal seams and can build up in poorly ventilated mine shafts.

But union officials said it could have been a coal dust explosion ignited by welding equipment at the Barakova mine near the eastern town of Krasnodon, about 425 miles east of Kiev.

While Ukraine has the world's highest coal industry death rate, the Barakova mine hadn't suffered a major accident before. Instead, it was known for the passion of its 3,000 workers, ever ready to launch a strike to demand back wages and stand up for their rights in one of Ukraine's poorest industries.

On Sunday, that enthusiasm was nowhere to be found. A few grief- stricken miners wandered aimlessly among the crumbling buildings at the mine, whose rusty, creaky elevators stand against the dark pyramids of coal rock.

Several rescue workers in dirty orange overalls were packing their gear, the last of the 33 teams who worked since Saturday to pull the dead up from the rubble 2,190 feet below.

Officials said 80 of the 277 miners who were underground at the time of the explosion died on the spot. Most of the others escaped safely. One died Sunday in the hospital. Seven coal workers remained hospitalized.

One of them, interviewed in his hospital bed, described the blast on Russia's NTV television.

''I heard a burst, then saw cloudy coal dust. There was the smell of fire,'' the survivor said through glazed eyes. His name was not given.

''I called the dispatcher, and she said, 'There's been an explosion, you guys are the only ones left, hurry and come back up.'''

A handwritten list of the victims' names hung on a bulletin board at the entrance to the mine's administration building. Next to the list were two red carnations, a notice about volleyball practice, and a note advertising a country cabin for sale.

''My son, my blood!'' wailed one woman wrapped in a shawl, whose 21- year-old son, Andriy Li-Chan-Yuk, was on the list.

Three young men stopped next to the list, and one started crying, touching the written names.

''Five friends at once, just like that. Friends, schoolmates,'' he said, turning away.

Later Sunday, many of the victims' relatives gathered in the yard of the Krasnodon hospital. Their feet sinking into the mud, they watched as medics pulled out stretchers loaded with bodies from three large refrigerator trucks.

Inside the hospital, the floor was covered with a carpet of bodies. Forensic experts stepped over the corpses, most of them naked, trying to identify them. One miner was laying fully dressed, his hands resting peacefully on his chest.

The accident underlined the messy state of Ukraine's coal industry.

Equipment is outdated and treacherous, and most of Ukraine's more than 400,000 coal workers do not receive their wages on time. Much of eastern Ukraine, once proud of its coal riches, has turned into a wasteland of poverty and environmental destruction.

The average monthly wage is $170, said Ukraine's Energy Minister Serhiy Tulub.

Tulub, who was at the accident site Sunday, also said safety violations were likely at fault, according by Interfax.

But miners usually blame accidents on officials' unwillingness to spend money on maintaining or upgrading equipment.

Kuchma declared Monday and Tuesday days of national mourning. Many of the funerals were scheduled for Monday. The president said the government has sent $1.8 million to help the victims' families.

At least 274 miners died in mine accidents in Ukraine last year, down from about 360 in 1998.

AP-NY-03-12-00 1449EST

-- Jen Bunker (jen@bunkergroup.com), March 12, 2000.