Drama in Zenica: Rescue operation for 34 miners still ongoing

An earthquake recorded yesterday afternoon 14 km northeast of Zenica in the Raspotočje Zenica Coal Mine shaft caused a rock burst, writes Patria. In the mine, as announced an hour after midnight, 34 miners were trapped, not eight as initially thought. The miners have been trapped at a depth of 550 meters for 16 hours, and the rescue operation is still ongoing.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter scale, occurred at a depth of two kilometers. A large pressure buildup and damage to the mine workings occurred in the Raspotočje shaft. The two who managed to get out of the shaft were transferred to the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Cantonal Hospital Zenica and are out of danger. Rescue teams have been formed, but no one can say for sure when the miners will be safe. Oxygen is being supplied to them through pipes, and family members and other miners are at the scene of the accident.

This is the third rock burst in the Raspotočje shaft since the beginning of this year. As previously stated for Patria, miners are aware of the risks whenever they descend into the shaft, but it is their job and they do it with honor.

The first burst, in which 11 miners were killed, occurred on March 29, and the second on August 12, where several miners were slightly injured.