KYIV, July 16 – Coal mine officials violated safety regulations during an underground fire, leading 35 miners to die of smoke inhalation in Ukraine’s deadliest mining accident this year, government officials said Tuesday.
A government commission investigating the July 7 accident in the eastern Donetsk region said officials of the Ukraina mine violated safety rules and evacuation plans when the fire broke out, according to the State Labor Safety Committee.
Despite reports of underground smoke, an unidentified mine dispatcher ordered 56 miners to continue their descent into the mine while sending an engineer to check the shaft, the labor committee said. The dispatcher called an emergency rescue team after the fire was confirmed. He then ordered workers to evacuate and change the direction of ventilation despite an engineer’s warning that the shift could engulf miners in smoke, the committee said. The smoke filled the shaft, killing all 30 miners inside a trolley and five others who were found nearby or later died in hospital. The remaining 79 miners working at the time were rescued. The commission said the fire was caused by “conveyor line friction with a finishing drum.” A lack of fire extinguishing equipment and of systematic control of the conveyor caused the blaze to spread. Checks of other mines showed that coal miners and engineers are poorly trained in how to react during accidents. The commission ordered training at the region’s mines to teach mine workers emergency plans, location of exits and how to use respiratory masks. Fire extinguishing equipment is to be upgraded and dispatchers’ cabins equipped with recorders to register all commands.
Earlier reports said the miners had been issued respiratory masks, but the dead miners were found without them. The director of the Ukraina mine and two aides are free on bail pending conclusion of the investigation. If convicted of negligence they face up to eight years in prison. Ukraine’s largely unprofitable mines have one of the world’s highest accident rates due to poor maintenance and serious neglect of safety regulations. More than 3,700 miners have been killed in job-related accidents in Ukraine since 1991.
