2 dead, 3 missing after earthquake at Polish coal mine
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The earthquake hit the Borynia-Zofiowka-Jastrzebie coal mine in southern Poland on Saturday morning, initially trapping seven miners at a depth of about 900 meters (2,950 feet). It was the mine’s strongest quake going back to 1989.
Two miners were rescued on Saturday after the tremor caused part of the tunnel where they worked to collapse.
The energy released by the quake amounted to 40 percent of all energy released in the roughly 110,000 tremors recorded at the mine since 1989, Daniel Ozon, the chief executive of mine owner JSW, told reporters.
Ozon said that the quake had a magnitude of 3.5 to 4.0. Earlier estimates by state mining supervisor WUG put its magnitude at 3.4.
The two rescued miners were taken to a hospital in the city of Jastrzebie-Zdroj. They were in “relatively good condition” and could walk unaided, Ozon told reporters on Saturday. ■