DONETSK, Ukraine – Almost oblivious to the constant rain of artillery in the background, devastated family members gathered on March 7 at the Shcheglovskoye Cemetery to bury miners killed in a methane gas blast on March 4.
The explosion in Zasyadko mine, less than 200 meters away from the cemetery, killed 33 miners, according to the latest official statement released by Kremlin-backed authorities in the separatist stronghold.
All bodies of the killed
miners have been brought to surface. Separatist government workers identified them with the help of family members. Survivors of the blast were treated in
hospitals in the separatist-controlled city.
Some caskets with lifeless bodies remain unopened. “It’s too horrific to witness the harmed
bodies. It will have its effect on the mental state of loved ones,” said Anna
Kushcharenko, a psychologist that provides mental assistance to some of the
family members who attended the funeral.
The Shcheglovskoye Cemetery is also where miners killed in past accidents are buried. The single largest tragedy took place in 2007, when 101 mineworkers were killed.
Colleagues of the killed
mineworkers are also present at the cemetery. They look at gravestones where
mineworkers of the 2007 tragedy are buried.
“I remember his name. He used to
supervise me when I started at Zasyadko,” tells, Vitaliy, a mineworker to his
wife. He feels uncomfortable to give his full name to the Kyiv Post. “I have
children and I don’t support anyone in this war. I don’t want my name to be
misused,” he said.
A woman stands with her
husband watching over an open casket. Her hands caress the head of her killed
son. “Why does this need to happen to us?!” she cried. Her husband hugged her.
“What have I done to deserve this?! He was a good boy!”
Other family members also wept. “We knew about
the dangers involved in mine work. But you are always hoping for the best. That
it won’t affect anyone in your family,” tells Andrey Jakymenko, the 24-year old
nephew of the miner killed. “All I can say is that I have deep respect for
all mineworkers. They get paid almost nothing and risk their lives for a
billionaire that misuses them.
He referring to the owner of the Zasyadko
mine, an ally of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych ally and current Opposition Bloc member of parliament. Yukhym Zvyahilsky. Neither Zvyahilsky nor mangers of the mine could be reached for comment.
Friends and family want this to be the last accident.
“Why haven’t they learned
from the disaster in 2007 when another 101 hard-working miners were killed?
They haven’t improved anything!” said Yuriy Tkachuk. He used to work in the
mine before 2007 but quit after the disaster. “I am here to show
empathy to my former colleagues. When will they
improve the safety inside the mine?”
Spokeswoman Yuliana Bidilko of the Donetsk Ministry of
Emergency was unable to answer that question. “As far as I know an
investigation is launched by our own authorities. It is the responsibility of
the management of the Zasyadko mine whether work can be resumed inside the
mine. All what we can do, is to advise the management,” she told the Kyiv Post.
Vladimir Tsymbalko of the local mining safety union thinks little will
eventually be done to improve the safety conditions in the mine. “We’ve seen it
in 2007. Absolutely nothing was done to prevent any disaster like it. Now we’re
living in 2015. The region is in war. Do you really think the priority here is
now to improve the mine’s safety?” he angrily said.
Some mineworkers confessed to
the Kyiv Post that have no choice but to return to work when the mine reopens.
“If we don’t go, we won’t get paid,” said Valeriy
Bezliudsky, his face still covered with dirt. “For now we are cleaning the
inside of the mine. We’ll see what we’ll do in the upcoming days. As long as
I’m being paid I’d do anything.”
But any safety improvements are too late for family and friends gathered at the cemetery to say farewell to their loved ones.
“The least we can hope for is that
our loved ones have died for a purpose. They are a reason to prevent any more
deaths. Let’s all pray for that,” a young woman said, while refusing to give her name. “Just tell the world our story so we won’t be
forgotten.”
Kyiv Post contributor Stefan Huijboom is a Dutch journalist.
