Eight dead after ‘methane gas leak’ in Serbian mine

An accident in a mine in central Serbia has killed eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said.

It happened after part of the pit collapsed, releasing methane gas inside and trapping the miners, state RTS television and local media reported.

The accident in the Soko coal mine happened shortly after 4am local time on Friday.

Officials said an investigation is under way to determine what happened.

“Inspectors, police and all relevant authorities are at the scene, doing what is necessary to determine the cause of this tragedy,” said mining and energy minister Zorana Mihailovic.

She visited the site on Friday and expressed condolences to the families of the victims, promising state help. She denied reports of an explosion.

“Unfortunately, eight miners suffocated,” said Ms Mihailovic.

The Soko mine, 125 miles south east of capital Belgrade, has had several serious accidents since it started operating in the early 1900s, including one in 1998 which killed 29 miners.

Drago Milinkovic, the mine manager, said initial information suggested there was a “sudden release of methane” into the mining area.

“Soko coal mine is a dangerous coal mine, dangerous from the aspect of methane,” he said.

“Security measures are at the highest level in the coal mine, but this time there was a sudden release of methane and simply the monitoring and the equipment that were in place did not help.”

Doctors in nearby Aleksinac, where injured miners were taken, said their injuries were mostly not serious.

Town authorities declared a day of mourning to be held on Saturday.

Near the mine, stunned locals stood in silence. One miner who identified himself only by his first name, Milan, said he usually worked the overnight shift.

“I changed shifts because of my family,” he said. “It could have been me.”