Czech coal mine methane gas explosion kills 13

Mining rescue workers prepare their equipment at the CSM coal mine near Czech-Polish border in Karvina, Czech Republic, 20 December 2018.Image copyright
EPA

Image caption

Fire is still raging in the shaft, hampering rescue and recovery efforts

At least 13 miners have been killed and 10 more injured in a methane explosion at a Czech coal mine, officials say.

Most of the victims were believed to be Polish miners provided by an agency, the state-run OKD mining company said.

Thursday’s blast happened 800m (2,600ft) below ground at the CSM hard-coal mine, near the town of Karvina, east of the Czech capital, Prague.

Managing director Boleslav Kowalczyk said a search operation was being hampered by fire.

“Unfortunately, we have reached a point where it was impossible to move forward, because there was a fire raging and zero visibility,” he said.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis is to visit the mine on Friday with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki.

“The blast at the CSM mine is a huge tragedy,” Mr Babis tweeted.

source: bbc.com