An apparent methane blast ripped through a coal mine in Siberia early yesterday, killing at least eight miners and trapping dozens more underground, Russian officials said.
Thirteen miners were rescued or made it to the surface on their own after the blast at the Taizhina mine in the Kemerovo region, a duty officer in the regional emergency situations department said. He said rescuers were searching for 31 others.
Regional emergency department spokesman Valery Kovchagin told Ekho Moskvy radio that four of the 13 survivors were hospitalized with moderate injuries and burns, but the duty officer said later that only two miners remained hospitalized.
He said authorities believe a methane blast occurred at a depth of 560m, causing damage in the mine, and the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted mine director Valery Naumkin as saying its effects were hindering rescue efforts.
NTV television reported that rescuers were trying to reach the blast site from a neighboring mine and that voices could be heard from the rubble. Officials said they did not know how long the rescue operation would take.
Citing regional emergency officials, ITAR-Tass said the blast was not believed to have caused major structural damage or a fire. Channel One television said the site of the blast was five 5km from Taizhina's main shaft.
Kemerovo region governor Aman Tuleyev arrived at the scene to oversee rescue operations, ITAR-Tass reported.
Accidents are common in the Russian coal industry, and miners stage frequent protests over wage delays and declining safety standards.
In September 2002, one miner at Taizhina was killed and two were seriously injured when the roof of a ventilation shaft collapsed during reconstruction work, showering them with rocks.
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS