11 Polish Mine Officials Fired in Wake of Blast
Authorities have fired 11 mining officials to discipline them for a mine explosion last month that killed 18 workers, the official Polish news agency PAP said Wednesday.
The agency said a special commission that investigated the disaster concluded that sparks from an electric rail car touched off an explosion of methane gas that had collected due to a blocked ventilation duct.
The Dec. 22 explosion occurred 2,150 feet beneath the ground at a mine in the southeastern city of Walbrzych. “The accident resulted from a violation of regulations and principles of mining technology,” the agency quoted the commission’s report as saying.
Those dismissed included the district mine inspector.
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