Fire Raspadskaya coal mine extinguished, no casualties
MOSCOW/KEMEROVO. Dec 4 (Interfax) - A fire at the Raspadskaya underground coal mine in Russia's Kemerovo region, which is operated by the Evraz Group's Raspadskaya Coal Company , has now been extinguished, the regional division of the Emergency Situations Ministry told Interfax.
"It's been extinguished. Fifty-five employees of rescue services and 10 units of equipment worked at the scene," the division said.
The fire broke out at the gas drainage chamber at the surface of the mine. There was no threat of it spreading. There were no railway sidings leading to the source of the fire, making it hard to tackle the blaze, the division said.
All 460 mine workers who were underground made to safety on their own. No one was injured. Four miners remained underground to keep essential systems operating.
A source in the mine administration said earlier the fire might have been caused by a short circuit.
Evraz told Interfax that the fire broke out at 11:36 a.m. local time, that all workers were safe and unharmed and that equipment had not been damaged either. The company declined to make further comment or say when the mine might start working again.
The Raspadskaya group comprises an integrated coking coal mining complex, including the country's largest deep mine - the Raspadskaya deep mine, MUK-96 deep mine, Razrez Raspadskaya open pit, the Raspadskaya-Koksovaya mine, a washing plant and other infrastructure. Proved and probable coal reserves are 1.322 billion tonnes.