In mourning after the death of 23 colleagues in Poland's worst mining accident in three decades, the hard-bitten miners of the Silesian coalbelt remain deeply tied to their tough livelihood.
Even as a two-day rescue operation wound down after the discovery of the last victim of a fatal gas blast at the Halemba colliery at Ruda Slaska in southern Poland, Thursday was a normal working day for hundreds of miners. The accident was the deadliest in Poland since 1979, when 34 miners were killed in an explosion at Bytom, which is also in Silesia.
But Tuesday's disaster only affected one shaft of Halemba. Other parts remained in operation, turning out the coal which makes Poland the European Union's biggest producer. At 5:30 am (0430 GMT), lines of miners walked to Halemba as usual, carrying their lunch packages, many with cigarettes wedged between their lips.
Strained faces and tearful eyes were the only sign that the men had learned of the discovery of the remaining bodies of their colleagues 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) underground. "This is a real tragedy. We're thinking of them and of their families," said Andrzej Janicki, a thick-set 43-year-old.
Rescuers had battled horrendous conditions at the Halemba mine since the methane gas blast on Tuesday afternoon, which sparked temperatures of 1,000-1,500 degrees Celsius (1,800-2,700 degrees Fahrenheit). The search was called off and restarted repeatedly, amid fears that high concentrations of methane gas could endanger the rescuers.
Twenty-six miners aged 21 to 59, and mostly employed by an outside contractor, had been working underground when the explosion occurred. The miners were working to permanently close down a shaft which had been damaged in an earlier accident in March. Three made it back to the surface and rescue workers recovered six bodies, all too badly charred to be identified, in initial emergency operations.
When efforts resumed late on Wednesday, rescuers discovered three bodies in the gallery where the accident happened. Then a further 12 were found and finally the last two were brought to the surface. Among the victims was Janicki's former boss.
"He was a good man. He had a wife and children," Janicki said. "Anyone of us could have been there," he added. "Of course I'm afraid, but this is my job. I don't know how to do anything else. And anyway, I wouldn't want to," he said firmly.
Janicki said he planned to retire within two years - "Godwilling," he added. A previous methane explosion killed 19 miners in 1990 at Halemba.
"Working in a mine, you never know what'll happen," said Andrzej, who worked there for 25 years and knew some of the victims of that disaster. "At no time, even the toughest, have I ever thought of changing jobs. The mine is my life. Being a miner is a calling," he said.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski decreed a day of national mourning on Thursday for the victims, and buildings across Poland flew the country's red and white flag decked with a black ribbon. Prosecutors have launched an investigation. Trade unions have pointed the finger at the mine's management for allegedly relying too heavily on contractors who don't know the shafts well enough, in an effort to cut costs.
Including the latest disaster, a total of 43 Polish miners have died in accidents this year. A jewel in the crown of communist Poland, the mining sector remains crucial almost two decades since the end of the regime, despite massive restructuring.
Comments
Comments are closed.