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22 March 2024
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Most rescue efforts suspended at Russian gold mine due to collapse risk
Most rescue efforts have been suspended at a gold mine in Russia's far east, where 13 miners were trapped by a rock fall on 18 March 2024, due to the risk of another collapse, state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday. Rescuers have been unable to establish contact with the 13 Pioneer miners since the rock collapse. Citing an unidentified emergency service source, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported Monday that the miners have likely drowned from flooding. “A borehole exploration has shown water at a depth of 153 metres. The remaining parts of the mine are likely also flooded,” the source was quoted as saying.
Rescuers have also been evacuated from the mine due to the risk of another collapse, TASS cited its source as saying.
Incident: 20 March 2024
“The situation remains difficult,” Amur Governor Vasily Orlov said on Telegram. While reporting that there has still been no communication with the trapped miners, he said it is believed that they are still alive. Rescuers are attempting to drill through several hundred metres of rock in an attempt to establish contact with the men and assess their condition. Even if the passage does not lead to people, it will be possible to lower a camera into it to assess the situation and lay communication lines,” said Orlov.
A relative of one of the trapped miners, quoted by the state-owned Izvestia newspaper, claimed the miners were “banging on a pipe”. Rimma Akhmadeyeeva said four of them hailed from her hometown of Sibay in the Urals area of Bashkortostan region.
State news agency RIA Novosti reported that the volume of rubble and rock at the remote mine, owned by sanctions-hit copper and gold producer UMMC, was nine times larger than previously estimated.
According to RIA Novosti, 1 000 cubic metres of rock have collapsed over the last 24 hours.
Lax safety measures have often led to deadly accidents in Russian mines and factories.
The Pioneer gold mine, one of Russia's largest, is in the Amur region which borders China, about 5 300km east of Moscow.
Managing director arrested
The managing director of the gold mine has been arrested over safety violations, investigators in Far East Russia’s Amur region said Monday. “The managing director was detained in the Amur region on suspicion of violating safety requirements during operations at the Pioneer mine,” said the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.
It did not identify the managing director by name, though previous reporting has identified him as Alexei Biryukov.
Sources: The Moscow Times, Reuters, Al Jazeera
Rescuers have also been evacuated from the mine due to the risk of another collapse, TASS cited its source as saying.
Incident: 20 March 2024
“The situation remains difficult,” Amur Governor Vasily Orlov said on Telegram. While reporting that there has still been no communication with the trapped miners, he said it is believed that they are still alive. Rescuers are attempting to drill through several hundred metres of rock in an attempt to establish contact with the men and assess their condition. Even if the passage does not lead to people, it will be possible to lower a camera into it to assess the situation and lay communication lines,” said Orlov.
A relative of one of the trapped miners, quoted by the state-owned Izvestia newspaper, claimed the miners were “banging on a pipe”. Rimma Akhmadeyeeva said four of them hailed from her hometown of Sibay in the Urals area of Bashkortostan region.
State news agency RIA Novosti reported that the volume of rubble and rock at the remote mine, owned by sanctions-hit copper and gold producer UMMC, was nine times larger than previously estimated.
According to RIA Novosti, 1 000 cubic metres of rock have collapsed over the last 24 hours.
Lax safety measures have often led to deadly accidents in Russian mines and factories.
The Pioneer gold mine, one of Russia's largest, is in the Amur region which borders China, about 5 300km east of Moscow.
Managing director arrested
The managing director of the gold mine has been arrested over safety violations, investigators in Far East Russia’s Amur region said Monday. “The managing director was detained in the Amur region on suspicion of violating safety requirements during operations at the Pioneer mine,” said the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.
It did not identify the managing director by name, though previous reporting has identified him as Alexei Biryukov.
Sources: The Moscow Times, Reuters, Al Jazeera