Raspadskaya evacuates over 400 miners due to fire on surface

KEMEROVO, Dec 4 (PRIME) -- Russian coal producer Raspadskaya has evacuated more than 400 miners from the mine with the same name due to a surface fire, there is no information about casualties or injuries, a source in the government of the Kemerovo Region told PRIME on Monday.

The source said that the fire broke out at 7.40 a.m. Moscow time at a methane drainage borehole of the mine, and Raspadskaya decided to evacuate all miners. Currently, firefighters and mine-rescue workers are operating there, the source added.

A representative of the Siberian regional center of the Emergency Ministry told PRIME that 456 miners were evacuated from the mine, and four miners remained in the mine.

Raspadskaya is part of U.K.-based steel and mining giant Evraz, which operates mainly in Russia. The projected capacity of the Raspadskaya mine – the major facility of the company – is 7.5 million tonnes of coking coal per year.

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