This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6171264.stm
The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Race to save Polish mine workers | Race to save Polish mine workers |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Rescuers in Poland have worked through the night in a desperate attempt to reach 15 miners trapped after a gas blast that killed eight colleagues. | Rescuers in Poland have worked through the night in a desperate attempt to reach 15 miners trapped after a gas blast that killed eight colleagues. |
| The explosion took place one kilometre below ground at the Halemba coal mine in Ruda Slaska, 300km (190 miles) south-west of Warsaw. | The explosion took place one kilometre below ground at the Halemba coal mine in Ruda Slaska, 300km (190 miles) south-west of Warsaw. |
| Anxious relatives have gathered at the pit head to await news. | Anxious relatives have gathered at the pit head to await news. |
| Rescue work has been slowed by fears there could be another explosion of suspected methane gas. | Rescue work has been slowed by fears there could be another explosion of suspected methane gas. |
| Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski flew to the site of the blast and has declared a period of national mourning for the eight dead miners. | Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski flew to the site of the blast and has declared a period of national mourning for the eight dead miners. |
| Grzegorz Pawlaszek, head of the state-owned coal company, said seven bodies had been recovered and the location of an eighth was known. | Grzegorz Pawlaszek, head of the state-owned coal company, said seven bodies had been recovered and the location of an eighth was known. |
| However, the high concentration of methane meant another explosion was possible and the body could not at present be retrieved. | However, the high concentration of methane meant another explosion was possible and the body could not at present be retrieved. |
| The identities of the dead could not quickly be determined as their ID tags had been blown away in the blast. | The identities of the dead could not quickly be determined as their ID tags had been blown away in the blast. |
| 'It is hell' | 'It is hell' |
| The fate of the 15 trapped miners is not known, although their locator devices were not transmitting. | The fate of the 15 trapped miners is not known, although their locator devices were not transmitting. |
| There is fear. This could have happened to any of us Krzysztof Przybyla, miner | There is fear. This could have happened to any of us Krzysztof Przybyla, miner |
| Mr Pawlaszek said "there is a chance to find someone still alive" but another spokesman for the company, Zbigniew Madej, admitted: "We fear the worst for the others." | |
| He added: "The conditions down there are extreme. It is hell. It is impossible to breathe in the area of the explosion, the ventilation has been destroyed." | He added: "The conditions down there are extreme. It is hell. It is impossible to breathe in the area of the explosion, the ventilation has been destroyed." |
| More than 70 rescuers are using heavy equipment to try to reach the shaft but it is not known if the breathing apparatus for the trapped miners will hold out. | More than 70 rescuers are using heavy equipment to try to reach the shaft but it is not known if the breathing apparatus for the trapped miners will hold out. |
| Temperatures in the shaft have reached 40C. | Temperatures in the shaft have reached 40C. |
| Priests have been counselling distressed relatives. Eight candles burned on a wall at the main gate. | Priests have been counselling distressed relatives. Eight candles burned on a wall at the main gate. |
| "Me and my son, we are waiting for my husband," Barbara Luczakiewicz told Reuters news agency. | "Me and my son, we are waiting for my husband," Barbara Luczakiewicz told Reuters news agency. |
| "We hope he will get out of there. I am very scared but I haven't lost hope." | "We hope he will get out of there. I am very scared but I haven't lost hope." |
| One miner leaving another shift at the mine, Krzysztof Przybyla, said: "There is fear. This could have happened to any of us." | One miner leaving another shift at the mine, Krzysztof Przybyla, said: "There is fear. This could have happened to any of us." |
| The Southern Mining Company said the explosion happened at 1630 (1530 GMT) on Tuesday. | The Southern Mining Company said the explosion happened at 1630 (1530 GMT) on Tuesday. |
| Mr Pawlaszek said the shaft had been closed in March because of high gas levels, but the miners were retrieving equipment worth £23m that had been left behind. | Mr Pawlaszek said the shaft had been closed in March because of high gas levels, but the miners were retrieving equipment worth £23m that had been left behind. |
| "It was new equipment and that is why we decided to retrieve it," he said. | "It was new equipment and that is why we decided to retrieve it," he said. |
| Prime Minister Kaczynski said at the site: "We must still hold onto hope, but if the worst has happened, the families of the miners will receive the necessary aid." | Prime Minister Kaczynski said at the site: "We must still hold onto hope, but if the worst has happened, the families of the miners will receive the necessary aid." |
| The mine is in Silesia, the heartland of the Polish coal industry. | The mine is in Silesia, the heartland of the Polish coal industry. |
| Unions have often complained of poor investment in the industry. More than 80 miners have died in the country since 2003. | Unions have often complained of poor investment in the industry. More than 80 miners have died in the country since 2003. |
| An explosion at the Halemba pit in 1990 killed 19 miners. | An explosion at the Halemba pit in 1990 killed 19 miners. |