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The Rudna copper mine KGHM via Website

Trapped miners rescued after tunnel collapse

The 19 Polish miners trapped when an earthquake hit have been rescued.

NINETEEN MINERS WERE trapped in a collapsed tunnel at Rudna copper mine in Poland when an earthquake hit south-west of Warsaw just after 10pm last night.

Emergency services say they rescued all 19 workers after about eight hours of digging through rock and earth, according to BBC News.

Reuters reports that the men were trapped about 600 metres below the surface. Two were treated for minor injuries but the other 17 have returned home.

A spokesperson for the mine’s owner KGHM said it was the biggest accident in the firm’s history. The State-controlled company is Europe’s second-biggest copper producer. It operates in the Lower Silesia region, which is rich in mineral resources.

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14 Comments
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    Mute Krystian Brzezowski
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:46 AM

    Thanks be to God, this kind of situations not always are ending in a good way.

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    Mute Martin Greene
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:45 AM

    a heartwarming story for a change. Great that all are safe.

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    Mute Darren Swan
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    Mar 20th 2013, 8:19 AM

    If that happened over here there would probably be mostly Polish in it too

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    Mute James Murphy
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    Mar 20th 2013, 8:08 AM

    They are very lucky, good to see them all rescued

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    Mute Jiho
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:56 AM

    Thank god they are all safe and can reunite with their families

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    Mute Catherine Crotty Brett
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:56 AM

    Thank god all are safe

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    Mute Ciaran Dillon
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    Mar 20th 2013, 9:53 AM

    Thank man they’re safe. After all it seems it was an ‘act of god’ that put them in danger….

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    Mute Tomas Domagala
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:46 AM

    After “earthquake hit” ??? Jesus… That “earthquake” was cause by the tunnel collapsing in the mine, not the other way around. Get it right lads.

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    Mute vv7k7Z3c
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    Mar 20th 2013, 7:55 AM

    Actually, there was a localised tremor that is understood to have caused the cave-in at the tunnel: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000fp74#summary

    But thanks for the comment. For future reference: if you want to query anything with the author, there is a ‘Send a Correction’ button beside our details. Might be a nicer way of doing it.

    Have a good one. Sinéad

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    Mute mohamad oconnor
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    Mar 20th 2013, 9:27 AM

    Morning Sinead you are up early!

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    Mute David Jordan
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    Mar 20th 2013, 6:32 PM

    It’s is possible this was Induced Seismicity, caused by mining activity. Induced Seismicity is relatively common, it can happen when human activity causes weight on the Earth’s crust to change, it usually happens when new Dam are built and water in the reservoir presses down on the crust. The Rudna mine shifted 300 million tons or ore since mining began in 1974.

    Gibowicz, S.J., Droste, Z., Guterch, B. & Hordejuk, J. 1981. The Belchatow, Poland, earthquakes of 1979 and 1980 induced by surface mining. Engineering Geology 17(4), 257–271.

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    Mute neo1
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    Mar 20th 2013, 11:59 AM

    Good news

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    Mute David Jordan
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    Mar 20th 2013, 6:38 PM

    Looks like I was right, just found this -

    A SEARCH FOR SEQUENCES OF MINING-INDUCED SEISMIC EVENTS AT THE RUDNA COPPER MINE IN POLAND – Grzegorz KWIATEK

    The largest earthquakes caused by the mine before this mag 4.6 event, were Mag 4.1 and 4.2.

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    Mute mohamad oconnor
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    Mar 20th 2013, 9:25 AM

    Quick take the too a Man U game and get them on Leno!!

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