Rescuers resume search for a miner missing after Polish mine accident killed 1, injured 17

WARSAW, Poland — Rescuers resumed an underground search for a missing miner in southern Poland Friday after a powerful tremor shook the Rydultowy coal mine the previous day, killing one miner and injuring 17 others.

Aleksandra Wysocka-Siembiga, spokeswoman for the Polish Coal Mining Group, PGG, told The Associated Press that security conditions underground improved and allowed the search to resume during the night. Rescuers had to pause their work late Thursday due to the threat of repeat tremors and the presence of methane gas in the mine.

Seventy-eight miners were in the area when a magnitude 3.1 tremor struck about 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) below the surface early Thursday. Most were brought to the surface quickly, including 17 who were hospitalized. One miner was declared dead as he was brought out of the mine.

At one spot, the tremor caused a rock burst, which is a sudden ejection of rocks into the corridor or tunnel.

Rescuers were hand-sifting through the pile of rocks along some 100 meters (300 feet) of the corridor in their search for the missing miner, PGG spokesperson Witold Galazka told the AP.

PGG has suffered several deadly accidents this year. In May, three miners died in a cave-in at the Myslowice-Wesola colliery, and one was killed at the same mine in April.

Two miners lost their lives in separate accidents in 2019 and 2020 in the Rydultowy mine, which was opened in 1792 and currently employs about 2,000 miners.

Coal mining is considered hazardous in Poland, where some coal mines are prone to methane gas explosions or to cave-ins. Excavation in older mines goes deep into the ground in search for coal, increasing the job’s hazards. The coal industry is among Poland’s key employers, providing some 75,000 jobs.

Last year, 15 miners lost their lives in accidents.