Seven miners were trapped underground this morning. Just after 4 p.m. mine rescue workers reached two injured employees who were in the area around the roadway above the longwall. Their state of health proved to be sufficiently good that they managed to evacuate to the surface with the assistance of the rescue workers. They were bandaged and transported to Voivodship Specialist Hospital no. 2 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój.
After 9 p.m. the rescue workers reached another one of the persons being searched for and they tried to release and evacuate him. However, it is still unknown what is happening with the other four mine employees.
Mateusz Morawiecki visited the Zofiówka Section in the evening. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland participated in a briefing session of the crisis management team. “We have committed the best equipment, search equipment to find the miners as soon as possible”, said Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.
A dozen or so rescue crews, each consisting of five rescue workers are taking part in the rescue operation. The conditions in which they are moving about are very arduous, and the methane concentration exceeds the permissible values. The families of the miners being looked for have come to the mine. They are being given care by a psychologist.
The rock burst with energy of E = 1.9x108 J (roughly 3.4 on the Richter scale) took place after 11 a.m. at the 900 m level. At that time, 250 people were working underground.
