Polish Coal Miners Trapped 900 Meters Underground After Earthquake
Seven coal miners were trapped 900 meters (2,950 feet) underground at the Borynia-Zofiowka-Jastrzebie coal mine in southern Poland after an earthquake struck the mine on Saturday morning. The earthquake was reportedly measuring 3.5 to 4.0 in magnitude, and is the strongest earthquake at the mine in almost thirty years.
Two of the miners were rescued on Saturday, after the earthquake caused part of the tunnel they were working in to collapse, and were taken to a nearby hospital. They were able to walk unaided and were in “relatively good condition.” Sadly, two other miners have died, and three more are still yet to be located.
More than 200 workers are involved in rescue operations, working to get mangled machinery and metal out of the way, while emergency workers pump fresh air into the affected area to reduce the methane concentration. The methane levels in the mine were recorded at 58 percent, however as the methane concentration is currently so high, there is little risk of ignition. Methane ignites at concentrations of 5-17%, so workers will need to be careful if they dilute it too much.
The energy released by this earthquake is equal to 40 percent of all the energy released by 110,000 quakes since 1989 at the mine.
