| After the explosion at Esaulskaya, the prosecutor's office intends to check all the mines in the Kemerovo region At the Esaulskaya mine in Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo region), where a methane explosion occurred on the morning of February 9, search and rescue work continued all day yesterday. However, by evening, rescuers were still unable to find the three miners who disappeared in the accident zone. So far, 22 bodies of dead miners and mine rescuers have been found, five more people were brought to the surface alive, four of them with serious injuries were taken to one of the hospitals in Novokuznetsk, including Viktor Zaitsev, who was pulled out alive from under the rubble 12 hours after the explosion.
The search for victims was interrupted only on Thursday night. Underground, the concentration of methane dangerously increased, the lives of the rescuers were threatened, and they were brought to the surface. But already at 7.30 rescue work resumed. More than 200 people, 22 mine rescue teams, of which two constantly worked underground, and 33 pieces of equipment were involved in the work to eliminate the consequences of the accident. As explained by the press service of the United Coal Company Yuzhkuzbassugol OJSC, which owns Esaulskaya, the search was hampered by numerous rubble caused by the explosion.
Yesterday morning, a state commission to investigate the causes of the accident at Esaulskaya arrived in Kuzbass and began work. It was headed by the acting head of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technical and Nuclear Supervision, Andrey Malyshev. Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia for the Siberian Federal District Valentin Simuchenkov, who arrived in Novokuznetsk on Wednesday, yesterday held a press conference at which he announced that the prosecutor's office of the Zavodsky district of Novokuznetsk had opened a criminal case under Art. 216-3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of safety rules during mining operations) and an investigation team was created. At Esaulskaya, investigators have already begun seizing the necessary documentation and collecting readings from control equipment. In addition, in connection with the accident at Esaulskaya, Valentin Simuchenkov promised to check the remaining mines in the Kemerovo region to determine whether their work complies with safety regulations, and whether the specialists are qualified and can work underground.
Four of the rescued Esaulskaya miners were taken to hospital No. 29 in Novokuznetsk on Wednesday; the fifth, miner Valery Golovko, refused hospitalization after outpatient care and is at home. Doctors assess the hospitalized condition as stable and serious.
The funeral of the dead miners will take place today. February 11 has been declared a day of mourning in the region. They will be buried not only in Novokuznetsk; among the dead there are residents of neighboring cities - Prokopyevsk, Kaltan, Osinnikov. It is expected that some of the mourning ceremonies will be attended by Kuzbass Governor Aman Tuleyev and Novokuznetsk Mayor Sergei Martin. Egor NIKOLAEV, Kemerovo |
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