Underground shock: what is known about the fire at the "Alardinskaya" mine in Kuzbass

On Monday night, December 9, it became known that there was a fire in the coal mine "Alardinskaya" in the Kemerovo region. Rescuers have already brought 120 miners to the surface, and the work of the mine was stopped until the circumstances of the incident are clarified. Now the rescuers are doing their best to localize the fire. Read more about the incident, the ongoing inspection, as well as the mine itself - in the material "Izvestia".

Fire at the mine in Kuzbass: what is known, the latest news

On the night of Monday, December 9, it became known about the fire in the coal mine "Alardinskaya", located in the Kaltan urban district of Kuzbass. The fire was reported at 2:20 (22:20 Moscow time on December 8). It occurred at a depth of 450 meters.

According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, 120 people were brought to the surface, two were handed over to doctors. It is already known that their lives are not threatened, they were sent home.

After receiving information about the incident, 44 EMERCOM specialists, as well as nine units of equipment arrived at the scene. Firefighters put all efforts to eliminate the fire. However, according to the latest data, the fire continues for about 10 hours. It can not be extinguished due to the fact that rescuers have not yet reached the hearth of the fire. About it reports TASS with reference to the Ministry of coal industry of the region.

Photo: Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation

"No one has not yet reached the site of the emergency. No one has examined it. The VGSCH (paramilitary mine rescue unit) is working on the site according to its regulations, but what is burning, how it is happening - it is not visible," - reports TASS.

At the moment it is also known that the mine "Alardinskaya" suspended its work.

Causes of the fire at the mine "Alardinskaya": inspection

The Prosecutor's office of the Kemerovo region - Kuzbass has already reported that the possible cause of the fire was an underground shock.

"It has been preliminarily established that on December 9 at night at the mine "Alardinskaya" recorded seismic event, which, presumably, provoked a fire in the pithead part of the face", - stated in the message of the press service of the body.

In addition, it is reported that the fact of the incident has already started an inspection of the implementation of legislation on labor protection and industrial safety. The Kemerovo inter-district prosecutor's office for supervision of law enforcement in the coal mining industry will be in charge of it. Prosecutor Dmitry Loskovichenko immediately arrived at the scene of the accident.

According to the latest available information, a staff for the elimination of the fire was established for the inspection, a set of measures for further firefighting is being developed.

Photo: Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation

The situation is under the control of the prosecutor's office of the region.

What is known about the mine "Alardinskaya"

The Alardinskaya mine is located near the town of Kaltan in the south of Kuzbass, about an hour and a half drive from Novokuznetsk. It is part of Raspadskaya Coal Company. According to the company, the mine has a capacity of 3 million tons of KC coal per year. Over 110 million tons have been mined over the entire period of time. The total volume of commercial reserves is more than 420 million tons of coal.

According to official data, 60% of coal goes to EVRAZ ZSMK (United West Siberian Metallurgical Plant, which is the largest in Siberia and the easternmost steel producer in the Russian Federation), and 40% - to the Raspadskaya processing plant. The main consumers are EVRAZ's steel mills, coke and chemical plants and metallurgical plants.

Raspadskaya itself, according to its website, is one of the main players in the Russian market, as well as one of the major international exporters of coking coal.

In addition to the Alardinskaya mine, the company has seven other mines, two open-pit mines and three coal preparation plants.