WARSAW (AP): The search for seven people missing after methane explosions in a Poland coal mine killed five was suspended when more blasts injured workers taking part in the rescue operation, officials reported Friday.
A decision to seal off the area of the Pniowek mine where the missing are believed to be was made after the Thursday night explosions injured 10 rescuers who were working to create safe conditions for the search.
Tomasz Cudny, the head of the mine operated by the JSW company, said it was a “very difficult decision” to halt the search but it was taken out of concern for the well-being of rescue team members.
“It would be very risky and very irresponsible to send them to such a dangerous area,”Cudny said.
Seven people were hospitalized after the latest blasts, three of them in serious condition but conscious. Earlier Thursday, JSW said 25 people who were injured in the original explosions early Wednesday remained hospitalized, nine of them in very serious condition at a hospital that specializes in treating mine accident victims, especially those with severe burns.
The deaths and injuries make it the worst incident in the history of the coking coal mine, which was built in the 1960s.
Before the search for seven missing miners and rescue personnel was suspended, JSW had said rescue crews were pumping air underground seeking to lower methane levels and reduce the risk of further blasts.
The initial explosion took place shortly after midnight early Wednesday about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) underground at the mine in Pawlowice, near the Czech border.
Three hours into the rescue operation, a larger, second blast occurred. Communications were lost with some of the rescuers, and the operation was suspended. Preparations to resume the search were underway when Thursday’s blasts ended them.
Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change.
Most coal mines are in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane gas.
The government has been actively scaling down the use of coal and recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Poland’s drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
