Another fatal accident claims 20 lives at Zasiadko coal mine (08/11/02)

Another fatal accident claims 20 lives at Zasiadko coal mine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - A disastrous month for Ukraine culminated on July 31 with one more deadly accident that may have been preventable, when 20 miners died as a result of an explosion at the infamous Zasiadko mine in Donetsk. It was the third such disaster in the last three years at the colliery, which is controlled by lawmaker and former Prime Minister Yukhym Zviahilskyi.

Tragedy struck again at what is considered the country's most productive coal operation around 8 p.m., when a build-up of coal dust exploded at about a kilometer below the surface in an area where 21 miners were working. One worker survived, suffering non-critical injuries. The remains of 19 of the men were brought to the surface immediately, while the body of the last unaccounted-for miner was discovered the next day, reported Interfax-Ukraine.

Members of Ukraine's Ministry of Emergency Situations said the blast was caused by drilling and blasting operations taking place at the time, a common mining procedure for breaking up veins of coal. On August 3, which was declared a national day of mourning for the latest victims, Vice Prime Minister of Industrial Policy Oleh Dubyna confirmed the initial findings and said he had received preliminary reports that violation of safety regulations during drilling and blasting sparked the explosion.

The Procurator General's Office on August 1 charged a deputy director and a blasting foreman with criminal culpability for "violation of safety rules in an area of high danger." Prosecutors were also investigating the managing director of the Zasiadko mine.

"Ukraine does not need coal at such a price," said President Leonid Kuchma in Sevastopol on August 1, referring to the deaths of more than 60 miners in Ukraine in three separate incidents in the last month, and 187 deaths in 13 separate incidents since the beginning of the year. The president told the government to establish a mine safety commission to enforce and develop additional safety procedures.

He also ordered all mines in Ukraine checked for their adherence to safety standards and the closing of those that did not meet minimum requirements, which resulted within two days in the shut down of 60 percent of the mines of the Donbas region for numerous violations.

Independent trade union members in Donetsk protested the decision and blamed the government and President Kuchma for insufficiently funding the mines, which they said has directly caused the degradation of conditions for miners.

"Miners expected the president and the government to give real financial support and further budgetary funds for the creation of safe labor conditions," read a statement issued by the protesters. "But all we have heard is 'do not expect further help, we will be closing mines.' "

Anatolii Kolomyiets, the leader of the Independent Trade Union of Coal Workers, laid direct blame for the third disaster in three years at the Zasiadko mine on National Deputy Zviahilskyi, who chairs the mine's board of directors, for failing to enforce safety standards. He explained that in 1999, when the first of the three fatal mine explosions occurred, his union members expressed a vote of no confidence in Mr. Zviahilskyi, which both the Verkhovna Rada and the president ignored, reported Interfax-Ukraine.

A total of 125 miners have died at the Zasiadko mine since 1999 - 50 as a result of a methane blast in May 1999, another 55 after another methane explosion in August 2001 and 20 more in this most recent incident.

Nonetheless, the Zasiadko mine continues to put out the most coal in Ukraine, regularly surpassing targets of 1 million tons annually. It also continues to attract the most miners because of the higher than average wages it offers. Currently there are waiting lists of workers ready to accept the higher risks of the Zasiadko mine in exchange for better pay.

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