Sunday, 05:00 a.m., June 8, methane gas exploded down the Karl Marx mine shaft in Yenakievo, Donetsk oblast, run by the State Enterprise Ordzhonikidzeenerhovuhillia, at a depth of around one thousand meters, marking the largest-scale disaster in Ukraine's mining industry to date.
According to the State Industrial Control Department's press service, this explosion was so powerful, it damaged both the shaft and the mine's ground facilities, smashing above ground windows, and even walls inside of buildings. The impact also destroyed the subterranean air supply and water pumping systems, so water kept coming even in the course of search and rescue operations.
There were 41 persons on the site when the explosion occurred, of whom 37 were working down the shaft. Four workers operating the elevators above ground were injured by the flame gushing from the shaft. They sustained burns of varying degrees. Three were delivered to Donetsk's Burn Center and placed on a critical list, according to Dr. Vladyslav Hryn, director of the Institute of Emergency and Restorative Surgery. Their condition was aggravated by body injuries including bone fractures, burns of upper air passages, and craniocerebral injuries' We will delete the sphacelated tissues and take grafts to restore their skin. Given this kind of body damage, you can't expect a quick recovery," said Dr. Hryn.
As for the rest 37 workers, the rescue teams could not even start operating during the 24 hours in the aftermath of the explo sion. There was no way they could get down the shaft, so they had to clear it of the debris first. Grave forecasts concerning the destiny of those underground were supported by experts' morbid statements to the effect that the explosion must have taken place right beside the main cargo-and-manpower shaft. In other words, few stood a chance of survival. Ukraine's Coal Mining Industry Ministry Viktor Poltavets declared that the mine's gas sensors started registering an abnormal methane level a depth of 1,000 meters at 04:30 a.m. Miners began vacating their work places, gathering by the exit shaft, but had no time to escape.
Search and rescue operations showed that most miners had succeeded in distancing them from the epicenter. By 03:30 a.m. Monday the rescue teams had spotted and delivered above ground two surviving miners, along with the body of a dead one. All through that Sunday the experts who operated on the scene hoped to rescue a maximum number of survivors. Oleksandr Turchynov, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and chairman of the state commission to combat the consequences of the Karl Marx Mine disaster, said he had heard voices of miners below as the rescue teams were trying to get there through the debris. Later his allegation was confirmed. The rescue teams got through to the 875-meter mark by lunchtime on Monday. They had by then established contact with 21 surviving miners below. Rescuing them had taken them the better part of yesterday, for it takes the mine elevator three hours to get down and up. The experts feel happy any way. This is a considerably larger number of survivors than could be expected after this kind of explosion... We're still trying to lift people to the surface of the earth. It's a long process, for we can lift two persons at a time," said Turchynov.
At present, all surviving miners are hospitalized in Yenakievo and Donetsk's Burn Center. Meanwhile, victim relief bank accounts have been opened in Donetsk. These are meant for the victims and their families. According to Donetsk City State Administration, anyone can send money to the following addresses:
Karl Marx PPO, Yenakievo Terkom PRUP Ukraine EDRPOU
Code 26257191
Bank account no. 26002255577831
