Eighteen people unaccounted for after collapse at Poland's Rudna copper mine, while four managed to reach surface
Eighteen miners are trapped underground in a Polish copper mine after a cave-in, mine operator KGHM has said.
"The newest information is that 18 miners are trapped, four people have walked out earlier on their own," KGHM said.
The miners were trapped 600 metres below ground at the Rudna mine, about 249 miles (400km) south-west of the Polish capital and there had been no contact with them for two hours, said Dariusz Wyborski, a KGHM spokesman.
"There was a quake in the Rudna mine," Wyborski said. "The rescue operation is difficult because huge amounts of rocks have to be removed."
There was no contact with the trapped miners because the cave-in cut communication lines, the company said.
The mine is in the Silesia region, near Poland's borders with Germany and the Czech Republic. It has been in operation since 1974. The state-controlled KGHM is Europe's second-biggest copper producer.
Poland has large numbers of mines, mostly in the heavily industrialised Silesia region. In 2006 a gas explosion at a coal mine in the region killed 23 workers. Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 hours ago.
Eighteen miners are trapped underground in a Polish copper mine after a cave-in, mine operator KGHM has said.
"The newest information is that 18 miners are trapped, four people have walked out earlier on their own," KGHM said.
The miners were trapped 600 metres below ground at the Rudna mine, about 249 miles (400km) south-west of the Polish capital and there had been no contact with them for two hours, said Dariusz Wyborski, a KGHM spokesman.
"There was a quake in the Rudna mine," Wyborski said. "The rescue operation is difficult because huge amounts of rocks have to be removed."
There was no contact with the trapped miners because the cave-in cut communication lines, the company said.
The mine is in the Silesia region, near Poland's borders with Germany and the Czech Republic. It has been in operation since 1974. The state-controlled KGHM is Europe's second-biggest copper producer.
Poland has large numbers of mines, mostly in the heavily industrialised Silesia region. In 2006 a gas explosion at a coal mine in the region killed 23 workers. Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 hours ago.