DONETSK, Ukraine – His skin is torn apart. His arms are covered with dark bruises. His face is barely recognizable. Unable to speak well because of his injuries, 33-year old Vladimir Shutka lies in his bed as nurse Valentina Zhenina of Donetsk's medical burn unit treats his wounds.
“Our unit treats severe burn wounds. Over the years we’ve treated a lot of miners. Nowadays we usually treat people injured by shelling. It’s been a long time since we needed to take care of so many patients due to a mine explosion,” Zhenina explained.
On March 4 the Zasyadko mine in the northern Kyivskiy district of Donetsk suffered a fatal methane blast, killing at least 32 miners. Nearly 200 miners were evacuated. The severely injured were hospitalized.
“Suddenly we were blown away,” Shutka mumbled. “I laid on the ground, unable to see anything because there was dust everywhere.”
Authorities in the Kremlin-backed separatist stronghold said 32 miners were confirmed dead and at least one remained missing.
“Rescue workers are still inside the mine to recover bodies,” Yuliana Bidilko, a spokeswoman of the Ministry of Emergencies in Donetsk, told the Kyiv Post.
In the morning, however, a new shift of miners arrived to assist rescue workers in removing debris and searching for bodies Ukrainian authorities have offered help, but Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused separatists of blocking Ukrainian rescue workers.
One miner expressed his frustration at working conditions amid his sadness.
“We work for peanuts. The safety conditions are awful. And now we have to do even more dangerous work we’re not even educated for. Searching for dead corpses of our colleagues,” said a young miner near the entrance of the Zasyadko mine. He would not identify himself by name.
The Zasyadko mine has suffered other disasters. The deadliest mine tragedy was in 2007, when 101 miners were killed. Safety conditions have always been a topic of discussion and little improvement over the years.
The mine is located near the Donetsk airport and kept working despite the war around them between Russian forces and their separatist allies against Ukrainian forces.
“Our territory is at war. I know that. But we can’t choose to close everything down. We just can’t,” Vladimir Tsymbalenko, of the local mining safety union, told the Kyiv Post. “It’s hard to see with whom we were better off. As for safety conditions I just don’t know.”
It is no secret that some Ukrainian mines cut corners on safety to boost profits.
The owner of Zasyadko mine is Yukhym Zvyahilsky, an ally of ex-President Victor Yanukovych and current member of parliament with the Opposition Bloc.
In rare agreement, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and separatist leaders declared March 5 as a day of mourning.
The authorities in Donetsk have not yet released a statement about the reason for the fatal methane blast.
“Our first priority remains to recover the bodies first,” spokeswoman Bidilko told the Kyiv Post. She didn’t know if a criminal investigation would be launched. “It is too early to answer that question.”
By the afternoon of March 5, most bodies still had not been recovered, leaving desperate family members waiting for news.
Valerya Seredya, whose son is missing, said: “Why is nobody telling me anything? They said 32 people were killed, but they are unable to tell me if my son is among them. My son was killed in that mine, and as is the case in this whole stupid war, nobody will take responsibility for it.”
Kyiv Post contributor Stefan Huijboom is a Dutch journalist.
