Two found dead in quake-hit Polish coal mine; 3 still missing

Monika Scislowska
WARSAW, POLAND.- Polish rescue workers on Sunday found the bodies of two miners after an earthquake hit a coal mine in southern Poland.

Three other miners remain missing some 900 meters (2,950 feet) below ground since the quake hit Saturday morning in the mine, located in the town of Jastrzebie-Zdroj, close to Poland’s border with the Czech Republic.

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The head of the Jastrzebie Coal Company, Daniel Ozon, said a doctor confirmed the two fatalities and identification of the victims was underway.

The first victim, initially identified by Ozon as a 38-year-old man, had been trapped under some metal. He said the identification still needed to be confirmed by DNA tests.

The second miner was found a few hours later, trapped in the rubble, he added. More than 200 workers were involved in the rescue operation. Ozon said emergency workers were pumping air into the affected area to lower the level of methane gas before they can safely move ahead.

After the quake hit, four miners were rescued quickly but seven others went missing. Two of the missing were later found alive and have been hospitalized. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda travelled to the town, visiting the hospitalized miners and meeting with their families and some of the rescuers.

Duda extended his condolences to the victims’ families. Authorities have launched an investigation into the accident. Poland’s State Mining Authority said the temblor had a magnitude of 3.4.