At least five workers were killed in a mine accident in a Czech coal mine. There are at least ten injured and eight missing, said a spokesman for the operator OKD.
According to preliminary findings, an air-methane mixture was ignited in the mine in the city of Karvina. It came to a depth of an estimated 800 meters to a Schlagwetterexplosion. In the process, the methane gas trapped in coal seams escapes and ignites.
The mine rescue searched in depth for possible victims and survivors. Many miners employed in the mine came from Poland.
The mine near the town of Karvina, some 300 kilometers east of Prague, has been in operation since 1968 and was modernized several years ago. The tunnels lie at a depth of up to 1100 meters.
"Pre-Christmas Tragedy"
The disaster is a great pre-Christmas tragedy, said the mayor of the adjacent community Stonava, Ondrej Feber, the online edition of the newspaper "Pravo".
The mine operator OKD has been in possession of the Czech state since April. The government in Prague had taken over the operation after the bankruptcy for the equivalent of about three million euros. The company employs around 9500 people in the structurally weak region. This year, around five million tonnes of hard coal were mined.