10 miners are injured and rescuers are searching for dozens of others in Polish coal mine accident

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — At least 10 Polish coal miners have been injured and rescuers are searching for dozens of others after a powerful tremor shook the Rydultowy coal mine about 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) underground on Thursday, officials said.

The cause of the tremor was not immediately clear.

Polish Coal Mining Group spokesperson Aleksandra Wysocka-Siembiga said the accident took place around 8 am

“Some of these people are being brought to the surface, some have already been brought up and some have not yet been reached by the rescuers,” Wysocka-Siembiga said.

Officials said 68 miners were in the area at the time. Fifteen have been brought to the surface, including 10 who were hospitalized, officials said. Airborne ambulances and 10 teams of personnel took part in the rescue operation.

Łukasz Pach, head of the ambulance service in Katowice, the mining region’s main city, said the hospitalized miners were in stable condition.

Two miners lost their lives in separate accidents in the Rydultowy mine in 2019 and 2020.

Opened in 1792, the Rydultowy mine currently employs about 2,000 miners.

Some coal mines in Poland are prone to methane gas explosions.

Associated Press