KEMEROVO, December 19. /TASS/. No one was hurt in an accident at the Rubana coalmine in the Kemerovo region, evacuation of miners continues, the press service of SUEK-Kuzbass, the mine operator, told TASS on Sunday.
"The evacuation continues. No one from among those evacuated was hurt," it said.
The company also said that works at the mine have been temporarily suspended. "Sensors detected increase carbon monoxide emission. Preliminary reason is self-heating of an idling coalbed. All works have been suspended. The mine’s ventilation is operating routinely. The gas situation is normal," it said.
According to the local department of the Russian emergencies ministry, as many as 120 coalminers were lifted to the surface and eight people are still inside the mine.
A source told TASS earlier that a fire broke out in an idling shaft of the mine. According to the local emergencies services, they received a signal from activated sensors. There were 128 people inside the mine at the moment.
The Rubana mine (previously known as Krasnoyarskaya) is operated by the Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) in the city of Leninsk-Kuznetsky in the Kemerovo region. SUEK is Russia’s biggest coal company with assets in seven Russian regions.