RSOE EDIS: Russia - Explosion - 2009.12.23

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

2009-12-23 14:05:47 - Explosion - Russia EDIS CODE: EX-20091223-24278-RUS Date & Time: 2009-12-23 14:05:47 [UTC] Area: Russia, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Yestyuninskaya Iron Mine, Nizhny Tagil Number of death person(s): 6 Missing person(s): 7 Damage level: Moderate (Level 2) Not confirmed information! Description: An explosion has killed six miners in a Russian iron ore mine owned by Evraz Group, the company is saying, in the latest disaster to afflict Russia's mining industry in recent years. Seven more miners are missing after the blast near the city of Nizhny Tagil in the Ural mountains, which occurred when explosives detonated unexpectedly as they were being transported 180 metres below the surface of the Yestyuninskaya mine. "All work at the Yestyuninskaya mine has been stopped. All staff have been evacuated," Alexei Agureyev, Evraz Group's vice-president for public relations, said in a statement. The Yestyuninskaya mine, one of four mines belonging to Evraz subsidiary Vysokogorsky GOK around Nizhny Tagil, is a supplier of raw materials to the huge steel plant in the city. Evraz, whose shareholders include billionaires Roman Abramovich and Alexander Abramov, is the largest steel producer in Russia in terms of the volumes it produces domestically. A spokesman for the regional Emergencies Ministry, Alexander Sorokaletovskikh, said 123 people had been in the mine at the moment of the blast. "Preliminary information indicates that the cause of the blast was a breach of rules governing the transportation of explosives," he told Reuters by telephone. Russia's mining industry, and Evraz in particular, have been plagued by disasters in recent years. Nearly 150 people died in 2007 in two separate methane gas explosions at Siberian coal mines, both of which were part-owned, then fully acquired, by Evraz. Low maintenance of Soviet-era mines and the lax application of safety rules as workers chase production-related bonuses have been cited as reasons for prior accidents, although it is unclear what led the latest explosion at Yestyuninskaya. Evraz said an investigation was under way. Posted:2009-12-23 14:05:47 [UTC] Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu