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1 December, 2008
A methane gas explosion killed 13 miners and wounded 14 others at the Petrila site of the National Coal Co. in the Jiu valley, Romania. The tragedy occurred 15 November.
Among the dead were four emergency workers who were killed by a second explosion four hours later. They were attempting to rescue survivors, and recover bodies. All rescue activities were put on hold for 48 hours following the second blast. The final miner died of cardiac arrest early last week at a Bucharest hospital.
The mine was shut down for two weeks, and reopened on 27 November. Workers held a memorial service on 18 November. The company paid the wages and seniority bonuses for the mine’s 1,490 workers during the two-week shutdown.
Romania’s worst mining disaster in 28 years, the two Petrila explosions on 15 November had attracted serious attention by the country’s President. Both called for tougher scrutiny of safety at Romanian mining sites. “This is too big a tragedy not to wonder about the causes,” stated President Traian Basescu. “The inquiry will determine if all protective measures were taken when the first miners went down the shafts and if the rescuers’ intervention was done according to the rules,” said Varujan Vosganian, Romania’s Minister of Economy and Commerce.
Rumours were backed up by relatives that miners had been forced to continue working despite high readings of methane levels six days before the disaster. Smaller gas explosions had occurred in the mine.
Ovidiu Jurca, Vice President of a national trade union bloc, BNS, said, “Its criminal negligence to let these people work when the accepted methane gas level has been topped.”