Siberia coal mine disaster: Russia jails 5 over Listvyazhnaya mine blast that killed 51

A Russian court on Saturday, Nov 27 ordered the imprisonment of five people and ruled that they remain in pre-trial detention for up to two months in relation to a coal mine blast in Siberia that resulted in the deaths of over 51 people. If convicted, the said detainees may face up to seven years of prison. Pending an investigation, the Central District Court in the city of Kemerovo on November 27 ordered the director of the Listvyazhnaya mine, Sergei Makhrakov, his deputy Andrei Molostvov and section supervisor Sergei Gerasimenok to be sent to jail in connection with the methane explosion that rocked the mine in southwestern Siberia on Thursday, earlier this week. 

At least 46 miners and five rescuers died as a result of toxic methane inhalation and fire. Those arrested now face charges of violating industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities, the Associated Press reported. Two local branch officials employed with Russia’s state technology and ecology watchdog ‘Rostekhnadzor’ namely Sergei Vinokurov and Vyacheslav Semykin were also arrested for safety protocol negligence. 

Miners, on several occasions, had complained about the high level of methane in the mine where the accident occurred, Russia’s law enforcement officials told Associated Press. Authorities had also suspended the work of certain sections of the mine nine times, and imposed penalties worth four million rubles (roughly $53,000) for safety violations, and gave repeated warnings to fix the hazardous working conditions but no action was taken, Russia’s top independent news site, Meduza, reported.

At the time that a massive fire engulfed the Listvyazhnaya mine and caused an explosion, some 285 miners were stranded inside. Initially, nearly 11 workers were reported killed at the time when reports emerged about dozens of miners going missing by the night at the coal mine. The region stretches across roughly 3,500 km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow. An emergency official later revealed to Russian news agency Tass, that there are no survivors. 

Russia has, for years, dismissed safety concerns in mining industry and blamed ‘natural causes’ 

Nearly 34% out of 58 coal mines in Russia are vulnerable and dangerous, with neglect and safety breaches despite that a quarter of a million people are employed in the industry. In 2007, nearly 106 people died in a gas explosion at the Ulyanovskaya coal mine in Siberia, which was described as Russia’s worst mining disaster since the fall of the Soviet Union until yesterday’s incident. As per the reports, the working conditions in the former Soviet Union are appalling and miners were forced to cut corners on safety and work in a dangerous environment for the sake of ‘productivity’. Underground miners in Russia’s coal industry are paid 15,000 roubles ($575) while 70% of income is handed as “bonuses” which makes working conditions for the labourers worse.