The accident at the Soko coal mine, about 200km southeast of the capital Belgrade, occurred shortly after 4am on Friday, when part of the mine collapsed, releasing methane gas inside and trapping the miners, state television RTS reported. Serbia’s mining and energy minister said the miners appeared to have drowned in an excessive amount of methane gas. Officials said an investigation was under way to determine what exactly happened. “Inspectors, police and all relevant authorities are on the scene, doing whatever is necessary to determine the cause of this tragedy,” said Mines and Energy Minister Zorana Mikhailovic. Mikhailovic visited the site on Friday and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, promising state aid. He denied the reports of an explosion. “Unfortunately, eight miners drowned,” Mikhailovic said.
Sudden release of gas
The Soko mine has had a number of serious accidents since it became operational in the early 1900s. An accident at the mine in 1998 killed 29 miners.
Drago Milinkovic, director of the Soko coal mine, said initial reports suggested there had been a “sudden release of methane gas” in the mining area.
Rescuers transport a body after the accident to the mine. (The Associated Press)
“The Soko coal mine is a dangerous coal mine, dangerous in terms of methane,” he said. “The security measures are at the highest level in the coal mine, but this time there was a sudden release of methane and just the monitoring and the equipment that existed did not help.”
Doctors at nearby Aleksinac, where injured miners have been transported, said most of the injuries were not serious. City officials have declared a day of mourning to be declared Saturday.
Near the mine, surprised locals stood in silence. A miner who identified himself only by his first name, Milan, said he usually worked night shifts.
“I changed shifts because of my family,” he said. “It could be me.”
