Russia's Far East Colmar mine caves in, one casualty reported
MOSCOW. Oct 8 (Interfax) - A rock collapse at Vostochnaya Denisovskaya mine in the Sakha Republic, or Yakutia, has caused the death of one person, and work has been partially suspended.
"At Vostochnaya Denisovskaya mine [owned by Kolmar Management Company] in Neryungri district, rock collapsed in the working face. There were four people at the emergency site: three evacuated themselves, and another was trapped under the rubble," Russia's Emergencies Ministry said on Tuesday.
A miner's body has been retrieved by employees of the paramilitary mine rescue unit of the Emergencies Ministry.
The press service of the republican headquarters of the Emergencies Ministry reported that the rock collapsed during mining operations.
A total of 16 workers have been involved in the emergency rescue operations, three units of equipment from the paramilitary mine rescue unit and the Neryungri fire and rescue squad of the Emergencies Ministry were involved.
The republican investigative committee and the prosecutor's office organized checks after the collapse.
The procedural inspection is also being conducted by the investigative department for the city of Neryungri of the Investigative Committee for Yakutia. An investigative task force is working at the scene.
"During the inspection, the prosecutor's office will assess compliance with labor protection legislation, industrial safety legislation and other issues," the press service of the Yakutia prosecutor's office said.
The Neryungri Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Yakutia is conducting the procedural investigation. An investigative task force is working at the scene of the incident.
The Kolmar press service told Interfax that production at the Central Inclined Conveyor Shaft of the mine has been suspended.
As reported, construction of the Vostochnaya Denisovskaya mine began in 2017, and was commissioned in 2021. The mine's capacity is 4 million tonnes of coal per year. Industrial coal reserves are estimated at 120 million tonnes.
Vostochnaya Denisovskaya is part of the Denisovsky Mining and Processing Plant, which mines the reserves of the Denisovsky coal deposit in the central and eastern areas of Yakutia.
The Kolmar Group of Companies is a Russian holding company that unites coalmining enterprises, trading and logistics companies, forming a single cycle of extraction, enrichment and shipment of coking and thermal coal mined at the deposits of the Neryungri Region, Yakutia.