Thirty-seven Donbas miners killed in Zasiadko explosion (08/26/01)

Thirty-seven Donbas miners killed in Zasiadko explosion

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bereau

KYIV - Thirty-seven miners are already dead, and the number is very likely to climb considerably two days after a methane gas explosion rocked another Ukrainian coal mine, this one in Donetsk.

The explosion, which injured 38 additional miners, 19 of them critically, occurred the morning of August 19 at a level of 1,300 meters, or nearly a mile below ground. Ten miners were still missing as rescue workers continued attempts to extinguish intense fires below the surface that had reached temperatures of 1,000 degrees centigrade. Thirty-five of the 37 dead were killed in the blast, while the other two succumbed to severe burns a day later.

Government officials, including Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma and First Vice Prime Minister Oleh Dubyna, were told at the scene that the explosion was caused by spontaneous ignition after a buildup of methane underground.

"We don't need the coal if it carries that kind of price," said President Kuchma, commenting on the tragedy after arriving in Donetsk on August 20.

The president said he would heed recommendations that the mining industry limit mine depths to 1,000 meters. He explained that experts had told him it was very difficult to control conditions in the mines that far below the ground.

The affected mine, the Zasiadko, is considered the most productive in the region, but some experts are questioning whether the output has not been at too high a price. In May 1999, 50 miners died when another methane explosion shook the Zasiadko mine.

Meanwhile President Kuchma said in Donetsk that he had asked the United States and international financial organizations to help the country obtain ventilating systems that prevent the dangerous buildup of methane gas in the deep tubes.

Firefighters, who were attempting to localize the fire by dumping tons of concrete in the shafts to block the passage of air, said it could take up to two weeks to extinguish the fire, according to "Holos Ukrainy." They said they expected that the mine would not restart work for several months. There are 380 people and 55 pieces of equipment engaged in the firefighting effort.

Twenty dead miners were buried on August 21, which President Kuchma declared a national day of mourning. Another 15 were expected to be put to rest the next day and two more on August 23.

Ukraine's mining industry, debilitated by old mines and a lack of finances to upgrade equipment, has suffered a large number of deaths annually over the last decade. In the year 2000, 318 miners lost their lives in explosions and accidents in mines throughout the region.

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