mine accident

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Trapped Miners All Freed After 'Physically Taxing' Climb

They used a secondary ladder system to reach the surface

(Newser) - Update: More than three dozen miners who were trapped underground in central Canada on Sunday have all been freed thanks to ladders. The BBC reports a secondary ladder system enabled them to leave the mine, but required that they climb as many as 4,000 feet to the surface. The...

36 Killed, Including 5 Rescuers, in Russia Mine Blast

Methane gas leak led to explosions

(Newser) - A total of 36 people were killed at a coal mine in Russia's far north where a methane gas leak triggered three explosions that resulted in a raging fire and the collapse of the mine, officials said Sunday. The dead include five rescue workers and a miner who were...

Turkey Detains 18 in Mine Disaster

Including at least 2 honchos from Soma Holding

(Newser) - Eighteen people, including company executives, have been detained as Turkish officials investigate the mining disaster that killed 301 people, a domestic news agency is reporting today. The Dogan news agency said Ramazan Dogru, general manager of the mine owned by Soma Holding, and its operations manager, Akin Celik, were among...

Engineers: Mining Disaster Was 'Murder'

Anger erupts as PM's aide appears to kick protester

(Newser) - With the death toll now at 282 and the hope of finding survivors diminishing, anger over yesterday's mine disaster in Turkey is spiking fast—and some aren't hesitating to point fingers. "WHAT HAPPENED IN SOMA IS NOT FATE, IT IS MURDER," a branch of the Chamber...

Protesters Tear-Gassed After Turkey Mine Blast

Death toll rises to 238; 120 still trapped, says PM

(Newser) - With the death toll from Turkey's mine explosion at 238, some are attacking a mine management system that "thinks only about money," as one worker puts it. Anger has sparked protests, including one that saw 800 student demonstrators hit with tear gas and water cannons in Ankara,...

201 Dead, Hundreds Trapped in Turkey Mine Blast

Rescue efforts underway

(Newser) - Yesterday was a deadly day for miners : An explosion and a fire killed at least 201 workers at a coal mine in western Turkey and hundreds more remained trapped underground, government officials said today. Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 people were inside the coal mine in Soma at the...

West Virginia Coal Mine Settles for $210M in Disaster

Agreement allows for individual criminal prosecutions

(Newser) - The owner of a West Virginia coal mine where an explosion killed 29 men will pay nearly $210 million in a historic settlement arising from the worst US coal mining disaster in decades. An attorney with knowledge of the Upper Big Branch settlement provided details to the AP. The agreement...

50 Trapped in China Mine Cave-In

Rescuers pull 7 from rubble; 4 killed

(Newser) - Rescuers pulled seven injured miners to the surface today and were trying to reach 50 others trapped after a cave-in at a coal mine in central China, state media reported. Four miners were killed when the cave-in blasted rock into the mine shaft last night and 14 managed to escape,...

Trapped Miner's Body Recovered

Larry Marek, 53, died after cave-in

(Newser) - After nine days, workers yesterday recovered the body of Larry Marek, who was trapped during a cave-in in an Idaho silver mine. Marek and his brother, Mike, had just finished watering down blasted-out rock and ore in the mine on April 15 when the ceiling collapsed in a 6,150-foot-deep...

Rescuers Work Through Night, But Miner Still Trapped

Digging machine could help speed up efforts

(Newser) - Rescuers worked through the night and were still at it today, but a man trapped in an Idaho mine since Friday remains underground. A remote-controlled digging machine was brought in today, the AP reports, but it must be disassembled and then reassembled more than a mile below ground, and it’...

Bleak Outlook for 31 Men Trapped in Pakistan Mine

21 killed in yesterday's explosion

(Newser) - A mine explosion in Pakistan killed 21 people yesterday, and officials say there is little hope that any of the remaining 31 men trapped inside will make it out alive, reports AP . Making the situation worse is a poisonous methane leak, which officials say has been preventing rescue workers from...

Questions Linger After Man Abandoned in Mine Dies

But the family of Devin Westenskow understands decision

(Newser) - When rescuers decided to abandon efforts to save Devin Westenskow after he fell into a mine shaft on Wednesday, it was “the hardest thing ever,” said his family in a statement. Even so, they understood why the decision was made. But not everyone is so understanding. "I...

Rescuers Abandon Man Trapped Alive in Mine

28-year-old seen breathing on video, given last rites

(Newser) - A priest has given last rites to a man who fell into an abandoned Nevada mine shaft so deep and treacherous that rescuers have abandoned efforts to reach him, officials say. The man was still alive but they said any rescue attempt would pose too great a risk to people...

Third Explosion Shakes New Zealand Mine

Prime minister plans memorial service for 29 lost miners

(Newser) - A third explosion has rattled the New Zealand coal mine where 29 workers were lost this week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The latest blast was the smallest and “isn't likely to impede any work out there,” police said. Prime minister John Key today announced a Dec. 2...

New Zealand Mourns 29 Lost Miners

But mine should reopen, civic leaders say

(Newser) - As New Zealand mourns the 29 miners lost in Tuesday’s second explosion , civic leaders are already calling for the mine to be reopened. "A big part of our economy on the west coast is coal and, yes, we want our men back down the mine working,” says...

Chinese Mine Blast Kills 20, Traps 17

Gas-filled mine fraught with danger for rescuers

(Newser) - It's a good time to not be a miner: Mere days after Chile pulled off its rescue, Chinese officials are fighting perilous conditions to rescue 17 miners trapped underground after an explosion in a coal mine that killed at least 20. Gas levels nearing 40% inside the mine and the...

Trapped Miners Survived on a Few Bites of Tuna

Plus a sip of milk, a biscuit, every 2 days

(Newser) - As more news from the trapped Chilean miners bubbles to the surface, the Telegraph reports new details on how they have managed to survive 18 days. Using an intercom lowered 2,300 feet, the miners explained that they carefully rationed the food that had been stored in the emergency shelter,...

Trapped Miners Could Be Underground Til Christmas

... in a sweltering shelter with limited food, water

(Newser) - Chile rejoiced over the discovery that 33 Chilean miners are alive after 17 days stuck underground, but their ordeal is far from over. The engineer leading the rescue mission says it will take "at least 120 days" to create a shaft wide enough to pull the miners up one...

33 Miners Found Alive After 17 Days

But rescue effort could still take months

(Newser) - After 17 days trapped underground, 33 Chilean miners were confirmed alive today. A probe reached the miners at 2,257 feet and returned with a handwritten note reading, “All 33 of us are fine in the shelter,” the AP reports . The gold and copper mine collapsed Aug. 5,...

Coal Mines Blow Off Safety Fines

US operations have almost $90m in unpaid

(Newser) - US coal mining operations have racked up plenty of safety regulations in recent years, but they simply haven’t bothered to pay thee resulting fines. Of the $113 million in major penalties the federal government has dished out over the past 3 years, coal companies have paid just $8 million,...

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