The 2011 Ukraine mine accidents were two incidents which occurred at two coal mines in Eastern Ukraine on 29 July 2011. The first was an explosion at the Suhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine which killed at least 17 people and left nine missing. [1] The second was an elevator collapse at a mine in the industrial city of Makiyivka, in which at least two miners were killed. The collapse also injured at least three and left 11 missing. [2] The President of Ukraine ordered the government to set up a commission to investigate the accident. [3]
Shortly before 2 a.m. on 29 July 2011, an explosion went off in the Suhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine, which occurred 3,000 feet (910 meters) underground. [1] The explosion killed at least 17 people and left nine missing. [3] Investigators suspect the accident was caused by a powerful explosion of methane. [4] Mykhailo Volynets, the head of the Independent Trade Union of Miners, called the Suhodolskaya-Vostochnaya mine "one of the most dangerous in Ukraine" due to buildups of methane and coal dust. [1] The President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov planned to fly to the accident site.
A short time after the explosion, an elevator collapsed at the Bazhanova Coal Mine in the industrial city of Makiivka. At least two miners were killed, at least three were injured and 11 were left missing. [2] [5] Hundreds of other workers laboring at a different section of the mine were trying to leave through emergency exits and pathways, said Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova. [1]
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, generally incompetent rock, the presence of methane gas, and coal dust. Most of the deaths these days occur in developing countries, and rural parts of developed countries where safety measures are not practiced as fully. A mining disaster is an incident where there are five or more fatalities.
Voznesenivka or Chervonopartyzansk is a city in Dovzhansk urban hromada, Dovzhansk Raion (district) of Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. Population: 15,218.
The Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster was caused by a methane explosion that occurred on March 19, 2007 in the Ulyanovskaya longwall coal mine in the Kemerovo Oblast. At least 108 people were reported to have been killed by the blast, which occurred at a depth of about 270 meters (885 feet) at 10:19 local time. The mine disaster was Russia's deadliest in more than a decade.
The 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster was a mining accident that happened on November 18, 2007 at the Zasyadko coal mine in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
Zasyadko Mine is a coal mining company in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk. Following the start of the War in Donbass in 2014 the mine became situated in rebel controlled territory.
The 2008 Ukrainian coal mine collapse occurred at the Karl Marx Coal Mine in the city of Yenakiieve, Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine on June 8, 2008. The mine collapse was said to have been caused by a gas pipe explosion. The explosion occurred at a depth of about 1,750 feet (533 m). 37 miners were trapped underground at the time of the collapse, located 3,301 feet (1,006 m) below the surface of the earth. Additionally, five surface workers suffered from burns and other injuries in a blast that they described as one of the most powerful in the industry.
The 2009 Handlová mine blast occurred on 10 August 2009 roughly 330 metres (1,080 ft) underground in Trenčín Region, Slovakia at Hornonitrianske Bane Prievidza, a.s.s (HNB) coal mine located in the town of Handlová. 20 people were killed, nine others suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment. Some historians have called the disaster the largest mining tragedy in Slovakia’s history. The deadly explosion, probably caused by flammable gases, occurred after mine rescuers had earlier been deployed to extinguish a fire in the Eastern shaft of the mine.
The 2009 Wujek-Śląsk mine blast occurred at the Wujek bituminous coal mine in Ruda Śląska, Poland on 18 September 2009. At least 20 miners were killed and at least 37 more were hospitalised. It is the country's deadliest mining accident since the deaths of 23 miners from methane at the Silesia's Halemba mine in November 2006.
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 roughly 1,000 feet (300 m) underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The coal dust explosion occurred at 3:27 pm. The accident was the worst in the United States since 1970, when 38 miners were killed at Finley Coal Company's No. 15 and 16 mines in Hyden, Kentucky. A state funded independent investigation later found Massey Energy directly responsible for the blast.
The Raspadskaya mine explosion was a mine explosion in the Raspadskaya mine, located near Mezhdurechensk in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, which occurred on 8 May 2010. It was believed to have been caused by a buildup of methane. The initial explosion was followed by a second approximately four hours later which collapsed the mine's ventilation shaft and trapped several rescue workers. By 18 May 2010, 66 people were confirmed to have died with at least 99 others injured and as many as a further 24 unaccounted for.
The 2010 Zonguldak mine disaster occurred in Zonguldak Province, Turkey, on May 17, when 30 miners died in a firedamp explosion at the Karadon coal mine.
The Bazhanov coal mine is a large coal mine located in southeastern Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast, in the industrial city of Makiivka. Bazhanov mine represents one of the largest coal reserve in Ukraine having estimated reserves of 58.7 million tonnes of coal. The annual coal production is around 1.02 million tonnes.
The Sukhodilska–Skhidna coal mine is a large underground coal mine located in Southeast Ukraine in Luhansk Oblast. Sukhodilska–Skhidna coal mine represents one of the largest coal reserves in Ukraine, having estimated reserves of 157.4 million tonnes. The annual coal production is around 712,000 tonnes.
Energy resources bring with them great social and economic promise, providing financial growth for communities and energy services for local economies. However, the infrastructure which delivers energy services can break down in an energy accident, sometimes causing considerable damage. Energy fatalities can occur, and with many systems deaths will happen often, even when the systems are working as intended.
This is a list of 2011 events that occurred in Europe.
In February 2016, a series of explosions caused the deaths of 36 people, including 31 miners and five rescue workers, at the Severnaya coal mine 10 kilometres north of the city of Vorkuta, Komi Republic, Russia. The explosions were believed to be caused by ignition of leaking methane gas. It is the second deadliest mining disaster of the 2010s behind the Soma mine disaster, and fourth deadliest of the 21st century thus far.
The Listvyazhnaya mine disaster was a mining accident that occurred on 25 November 2021 in a coal mine in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. Smoke from a fire in a ventilation shaft caused the suffocation of over 40 miners. A failed attempt to rescue the trapped miners resulted in the deaths of at least five rescuers when the mine exploded. It is the deadliest mine accident in Russia since the 2010 Raspadskaya mine explosion in the same region.