On August 15, four people died in an accident at the Vorgashorskaya mine owned by the Vorkutaugol Company. According to the Chief Directorate of the MES, an above-ground link building collapsed.
The collapse occurred when laying down the retired emergency coal conveying gallery which led from a skip shaft to a loading building, said AO Vorkutaugol. Four employees of the contractor "sustained fatal injuries." According to preliminary data of the company, a safety violation caused the accident. The circumstances of the accident are now being established.
The collapsed gallery has already been cleared. The Chief Directorate of the MES for the Komi Republic reported that the mine was functioning normally.
This is the first mass fatality at Vorgashorskaya in 45 years of its work. Previously, six accidents with single victims among miners were recorded at the mine from 2000 to 2015.
The Vorgashorskaya mine is the largest coal producer in the European Russia. It was opened in November 1975. According to the corporate website of AO Vorkutaugol, Vorgashorskaya is one of the newest and most modernized mines in the Pechora coal basin.