A court in the Amur Region commuted the sentence of those responsible for the deaths of miners at the Pioneer mine

A court in the Amur Region has commuted the sentence of the defendants in the case of the deaths of 13 miners at the Pioneer mine, where a collapse occurred in March 2024. The press service of the courts of the Amur region reported this in its Telegram channel on Tuesday, October 21.

"The Amur Regional Court overturned the verdict of the managing director and chief engineer of the Pioneer mine and handed down a new one — 4.5 years in a general regime penal colony with the deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the management of work at hazardous production facilities for a period of 2.5 years," the press service of the courts said.

In August 2025, the Zeisky District Court reviewed the criminal case and sentenced the defendants to 5.5 years in prison to be served in a general regime colony. The court also banned them from holding senior positions at hazardous production facilities for a period of 2.5 years. However, the convicts did not agree with the verdict and appealed to the Amur Regional Court, asking for a reduced sentence. The prosecutor's office also asked them to replace their real term with forced labor.

After consideration, the judicial board overturned the verdict of the Zeya District court and issued a new one, thereby reducing the period of stay of the defendants in the colony by one year, PriamurMedia news agency clarifies.

The tragedy at the mine occurred on March 18, 2024. A security pillar collapsed under the S-V Bakhmut 2 quarry, as a result of which water and rock poured into the underground workings. 13 people were trapped under the rubble, and communication with them was lost.

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 217 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Violation of industrial safety requirements of hazardous production facilities, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence"). Alexey Biryukov, the managing director of Pioneer, and Dmitry Chernikov, the mine's chief engineer, were detained as part of the investigation.

The rescue operation at the mine was stopped on April 1 due to the risk of rock collapse, flooding in underground workings and collapse of the side of the quarry in the amount of more than 200 thousand cubic meters, which would jeopardize the safety of rescuers and Pioneer employees.

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