Coal mine director faces charges as death toll reaches 67
Published: 23 May, 2010, 19:45
Edited: 24 July, 2010, 06:54
Rescuers lift the bodies of the miners killed at Raspadskaya mine, Siberia (Ria Novosti)
(12.2Mb) embed videoTAGS: Crime, Russia, Accident, Prime Time Russia
The former head of the Russian coal mine hit by an explosion earlier this month is to face official charges. The death toll has risen to 67, after the body of one of the 24 listed as missing was found on Sunday.
On Thursday the former owner of a mine, Igor Volkov has been formally charged by the Russian Investigative committee for breaching safety regulations. If he is found guilty, he will face up to 7 years imprisonment.
During a televised video conference on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin indicated that it would be Volkov and other Siberian mine owners who will be held accountable for the tragedy. The day after the conference Volkov resigned from his position.
Two explosions that happened on the Raspadskaya mine on May 8 and 9 killed at least 67 people, 19 of which were rescuers who had gone in after the first blast and were hit by the second one which happened around 4 hours later. Twenty three people who were underground at the time of explosions are still missing, presumed dead.
The investigation has still not been able to determine what was the exact cause of the explosion. The probable cause of the blasts is thought to be dangerously high levels of methane gas build-up in the mine which raised the question of safety regulations within the industry – especially taken into account the number of similar tragedies over the past few years. After the blasts in Raspadskaya, Putin has proposed a number of measures designed specifically to tackle the safety issue.
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It is strange that Prime Mister Putin inserted himself in such a public this tragic case by in effect openly absolving any responsibility of this tragic mine explosion by owners of mine, two oligarchs, one of who ist Prime Putin’s personal friend, and placing all the blame of this major coalmine catastrophe on the shoulders of the manager of mine! This is not credible. In additio, what Mr. Putin did is most inappropriate. Only an idiot cannot see that this coalmine catastrophe is more than the negligence of one man. In fact, rather than solving the problem, Prime Minister Putin’s public intervention in this case way work in the favour of the court defense of Mr.Volkov. We can all see that Mr. Volkoc’s has been staked out as the fall guy for Russia’s corrupt mining industry. For reasons who we can speculate RT no longer brings actual reports of the coalminers views but in the first few days when RT brought us interviews with the surviving coalminers, it is clear that owners were aware some paste unsafe practices have taken place in this coalmine. So, when Prime Minister Putin claims the owners of this mine will not be held responsible for this catastrophe, whose interests is he protecting? Those of Russian coalminers or the two oligarchs who owns this coalmine? RT needs to balance its overkill of the PB oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico by telling little more what happening this coalmine disaster that took the lives of 67 Russian coalminers. I used feel rather uneasy about Putin’s habit of giving personal gifts such as his expensive watches to ordinary people. I do not think the Russian people need personal gift from their politicians. What need is justice, safe working places and living wages so that they can feed their families. What happened to these coalminers is shame, pure and simple. What need is justice and so far I do not see that swift and comprehensive justice is been done for this poorly paid coalmine workers.