The mountain has gone from under your feet: a mine collapsed in the Magadan region

On Thursday, April 30, a rock mass descended at the Kadykchansky coal mine located in the Susuman urban district of the Magadan region. According to preliminary information from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, up to eight people may be trapped under the rubble as a result of the incident. Emergency rescue operations have been deployed at the scene, emergency services specialists and technicians are involved. The circumstances of the incident are being clarified, the scale of the collapse is being assessed and possible victims are being searched. Read more about the incident, as well as about the course of the rescue operation, in the Izvestia article.

The course of the rescue operation and the circumstances of the incident

At the Kadykchansky coal mine in the Susuman urban district of the Magadan region, a rock mass descended, as a result of which, according to preliminary data, up to eight people may be under the rubble. Information about the incident was received by the emergency services on April 30.

Immediately after receiving the signal, Russian Emergencies Ministry forces were sent to the emergency site. Firefighters, mountain rescuers and medics are involved in the aftermath — a total of 16 specialists and six pieces of equipment. In addition, an Mi-8 helicopter has been prepared for departure, which can be used to evacuate victims and transfer additional forces.

According to a source in Izvestia, not only people may be under the rubble, but also equipment, including a UAZ car, a loader and a drilling rig. These data are being updated as the rescue operation proceeds.

In parallel, the prosecutor's office of the Magadan region joined the work, which organized the supervisory support of rescue operations. The agency also intends to verify compliance with safety requirements when conducting mining operations at the facility.

Preliminary causes of the collapse

The reason for the collapse of the rock mass at the Kadykchansky coal mine in the Magadan region, according to preliminary data, was a mudslide. This was reported to RIA Novosti by the general director of the company, Alexander Nesterovich.

According to him, the incident occurred due to the peculiarities of the geological structure of the site: there was a so-called "lens" of permafrost in the area, which caused a defrost. This led to a violation of the stability of the soil and the subsequent collapse of the rock mass. "There has been a mudslide. There was a lens in this place, the permafrost thawed, and a collapse occurred," he said.

Nesterovich added that under the rubble, presumably, there are eight people — both local residents and workers who arrived from other regions of Russia. An operational headquarters has been deployed at the scene, experts are studying video materials and analyzing the situation.

Additional forces have also been sent to the emergency site.: Rescuers, medics and investigators took off by helicopter. Heavy equipment is being deployed to the area of the collapse, and mountain rescuers from Susuman are arriving to strengthen the grouping and accelerate search and rescue operations.

The initiation of a criminal case and the work of the investigation

The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case into the collapse of a rock mass at the Kadykchansky coal mine in the Magadan region. The case is being investigated under Part 3 of Article 216 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — violation of safety rules during construction and other work, which negligently resulted in the death of two or more persons.

The department clarified that an investigation team has already been sent to the scene, which included the leadership of the regional department, investigators and criminologists. They will have to establish all the circumstances of the incident, including the causes of the collapse and possible violations of safety requirements during work.

Priority investigative actions are being carried out on the spot, aimed at collecting evidence and fixing the situation, as well as analyzing the conditions under which the rock mass descended.

Kadykchansky incision: what is dangerous

Kadykchansky coal mine is located in the Susuman Urban District in the Magadan Region, one of the key mining regions of the Far East. The company produces coal in an open-pit manner, which involves the development of deposits in quarries and requires constant monitoring of the condition of rocks.

The mine is located near the village of Kadykchan, which was a major coal mining center during the Soviet period. After the closure of the mines in the 1990s, part of the infrastructure fell into disrepair, but mining in some areas eventually resumed in the open-pit format.

Work in this area is complicated by natural and climatic conditions. A significant part of the territory of the Magadan region is located in the permafrost zone — soils that have maintained negative temperatures for many years. When they are thawed, the strength of the rocks decreases, which can lead to subsidence, deformation and rock mass convergence.

Local areas with a high ice content are particularly dangerous — the so-called "lenses", which quickly lose their stability when the temperature changes. An additional risk factor is seasonal processes, including spring warming and snowmelt, which increase the water saturation of the soil and can provoke mudslides.

In such conditions, the development of deposits requires strict adherence to technology, constant geological monitoring and enhanced security measures. Experts note that the combination of complex geology and climatic factors makes mining operations in the northern regions of Russia, including the Magadan region, potentially more risky, especially against the background of climate change and accelerating thawing of permafrost.