Coal Mine Explosion in Siberia Kills 52, Raises Questions on Workplace Hazards
The director of the mine, along with 2 others, has been arrested for failing to ensure the safety of the workplace.
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A Siberian coal mine in Russia, called the Listvyazhnaya mine, witnessed a catastrophic explosion on Thursday, 25 November, that has left 52 dead about 250 metre below the ground, according to the BBC.
Rescuers were forced to stop their search and rescue mission for 38 people due to the intense presence of methane and carbon monoxide gas from the explosion that took place in south-western Siberia.
Russian officials said that a total of 239 people were rescued from the site of the disaster.
Local news agencies say that there was no chance of finding any more survivors.
While President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences regarding the explosion, this tragic incident has raised questions over the workplace hazards that miners face on a daily basis.
Rostekhnadzor, watchdog organisation that tracks the technological aspect of Russian industries, inspected the mine in April earlier this year and registered 139 violations, one of which was related to fire safety, according to The Guardian.
Additionally, this is not the first time something like this has happened.
In 2004, a methane explosion in Arkhangelsk left 13 miners dead and in 2007, a methane explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine killed more than a 100, The Guardian added.
In 2016, 36 miners had lost their lives in multiple methane explosions in the Severnaya coal mine north of Vorkuta in Komi Republic.
(With inputs from BBC, Reuters, and The Guardian.)
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