Mourning for dead in mine is declared in Perm Territory

UFA, 24 December 2018. /Bashinform News Agency, Rozaliya Valeeva/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

Monday, December 24, announced in the Perm Territory as a day of mourning for the dead at the mine in Solikamsk, it is said in the relevant decree by the head of the region Maxim Reshetnikov, published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

“Nine people were killed as a result of a fire that occurred in the mine of the public joint-stock company “Uralkali” in the city of Solikamsk on December 22, 2018. Expressing grief for the victims and condolences to their families and friends, I hereby declare a day of mourning in the territory of the Perm Territory on December 24, 2018”, the document says.

On Saturday at noon, during the performance of works, a fire broke out in the shaft No. 4 of the mine owned by PJSC Uralkali, located in Solikamsky district of the Perm Territory. Eight people were brought to the surface from the smoke area; nine people remained underground at a depth of 364 meters. Communication with them was lost. During the rescue operation, eight attempts were made to get to the blocked people, but the descent to the depth was difficult due to the deformation of the shaft structures, the continued burning, and heavy smoke. 20 hours after the start of search and rescue operations, all nine people were found dead. It took about six hours more for rescuers to lift the bodies to the surface. Among the dead were three residents of Bashkortostan: Ignatenko Sergey Gennadievich, born in 1977, a resident of Beloretsk, and also Ufa residents: Tomshin Sergey Pavlovich, born in 1961 and Abramov Anton Sergeevich, born in 1980.

According to the order of the Acting Head of the Republic, each family of workers from Bashkiria who died in the mine will receive 1 million rubles. A criminal case under Part 3 Art. 216 of the Criminal Code (violation of safety rules in the conduct of mining, construction, and other works, resulting in the death of three or more people) was initiated.