Fire breaks out at Lukoil’s unit in Komi Republic, 2 miners missing

MOSCOW/ST. PETERSBURG, Nov 2 (PRIME) -- A fire broke out at an oil mine of Yareganeft, a subsidiary of oil major Lukoil in the Komi Republic, and two workers are still missing, the local branch of the Emergency Ministry said on November 1.

“At 8.03 p.m. on November 1, 2020 … the Pechora paramilitary mountain rescue squad on duty … reported a fire that broke out at the third incline block of the first oil mine of Yareganeft,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that there were 82 workers present at the emergency site.

The representative told reporters that 80 people were brought back to the surface.

The Investigative Committee launched an inspection. “Given the preliminary information at our disposal, the cause of the fire was a short circuit in a launching mechanism used by workers of subcontractor Neftegazmash during drilling works,” the committee said.

Workers of Neftegazmash tried to put out the fire on their own at first, but failed and had to notify customer Yareganeft. The management of the oil mine decided to evacuate all workers, the committee said.

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