A fire broke out at an underground level of the Samsonovskaya-Zapadnaya coal mine in Krasnodon, the Emergencies Ministry said.
"The mine's controller reported a fire at the belt heading at 956 m level. Seven people were underground at the location, a total of 74 people were at the mine," the statement reads.
The affected section and the sections along the outcoming air flow were cut off from power.
Gas analysis teams have been dispatched.
"At 3:13 a.m. mine workers reached the surface on their own, as of 6 a.m. the blaze is being tackled by teams of the Control Center of paramilitary mine rescue unit," the Ministry said.
on August 25, 2021, fire broke out on 6th belt heading at 956 m horizon during exploration drilling. There were 64 workers in the mine at the time of the accident, including 28 in the affected section. All the personnel were successfully evacuated to the surface.
A similar incident took place on June 14 at the 4th western coal face prompting immediate evacuation of miners. There were no casualties or victims.
Launched in 1999, the Samsonovskaya-Zapadnaya coal mine is operated by the Krasnodon division of the Republican Vostokugol Fuel Company. Its output reached 20 million tons of coal over two decades of operation. The length of tunnels exceeds 85 kilometres. The coal mine is considered dangerous due to sudden coal and gas bursts and coal dust explosions. *t
