The 2009 Wujek-Śląsk mine blast occurred at the Wujek

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

mine in

Ruda Śląska Ruda Śląska (; ) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a city in the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million. It is in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica River (tributary of the Oder). It h ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 18 September 2009. At least 20 miners were killed (12 died in coal mine, 8 in hospitals) and at least 37 more were hospitalised. It is the country's deadliest

mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground mining (hard rock), underground coal mining, although accidents al ...

since the deaths of 23 miners from methane at the

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

's Halemba mine in November 2006.

Incident

The incident happened approximately 1 kilometer below surface level. Around 40 people were underground at the time of the blast. Twenty-nine made it out themselves but the rest had to be assisted. Emergency services ferried the casualties to the nearest hospitals. Eighteen were hospitalised at a

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

s specialist unit in

Siemianowice Śląskie Siemianowice Śląskie (; ; ) also known as Siemianowice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice, in the core of the Metropolis GZM - a metropolis with a population of 2 million people and is located in the Silesian Highlands, ...

; six were hospitalised at

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

where family members collected outside in an upset manner. Some of the deaths came quickly, whilst more did not die until some time later. Deaths were caused by burns, some of 90 degree proportions, with burns sustained to the

respiratory tract The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of conducting air to the alveoli for the purposes of gas exchange in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respirato ...

. Many will require psychological assistance as well if they are to fully recover from the incident. Production was stopped but the rest of the mine remained in operation. The fire was quenched. The probable cause is thought to be

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

ignition.

Investigation

An investigation into the incident was quickly launched. Then-

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

expressed his regrets: "On behalf of all Poles I convey the closest family members our sympathy and solidarity and join them in prayer and pain. I wish all the injured a quick return to health". Polish Minister of Interior and Administration, Grzegorz Schetyna, alongside a deputy minister of economy, greeted the families of those who died by visiting the region after the blast. Two days of national mourning commenced at 06:00 on 21 September 2009; flags were flown at half-mast. Several pre-scheduled events were called off as result of the disaster.

List of victims

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wujek-Slask Mine Blast, 2009 2009 mining disasters 2009 in Poland Explosions in 2009 Mining disasters in Poland Ruda Śląska 2009 disasters in Poland Coal mining disasters in Poland September 2009 in Poland

Incident

Investigation

List of victims

See also

References