Posted on 02/28/2016 11:46:09 AM PST by BenLurkin
A new explosion has rocked a coalmine in Vorkuta, northern Russia, killing five rescuers and one miner. The blast occurred during efforts to rescue workers trapped underground after the first blast at the mine earlier this week.
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The Emergencies Ministry has officially confirmed that none of the 26 miners whom the rescuers were trying to save from the first blast had survived.
That brings the total death toll from the two explosions to 36 people. The first blast happened on Thursday. Four people were killed immediately and the rescue operation for those trapped started.
Coalmine rescuers were operating at a normal safety distance, but the blast affected them even there, Tatiana Bushkova, spokesman for JSC Vorkutaugol, operator of the Severnaya coal mine, told TASS. А hoisting engineer was killed by the explosion that spread across the workings, she added.He was supplying materials to the site of the rescue works.
(Excerpt) Read more at rt.com ...
Vorkuta, the site of a massive gulag camp, in which scores of thousands (and probably more) died.
Probably safety precautions are still lacking.
I realized the same thing. The mines at Vorkuta and Magadan were the lowest depths of gulag hell.
That’s quite a blast to kill the hoistman. RIP for the 36 and recognition for the rescue team.
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