An early-morning explosion has claimed the lives of 14 miners and injured two others at a Romanian coal pit near Vulcan, a small town 250 miles west of Bucharest, according to Reuters.
The blast has been blamed on a gas leak. It killed men who were working some 1,150 ft. below the surface in the Jiu Valley, Romania’s richest coal basin.
By late Tuesday, rescue workers had recovered 13 bodies. The country’s ministries for labour and the interior are investigating the accident, which is the area’s worst mining tragedy in 15 years.
The coal mine dates back to the 19th century and employs some 1,500 people. Unions representing the country’s miners have long complained about deteriorating working conditions, poor ventilation and outdated equipment in the state-run mines.
Since 1999, a World Bank-supported restructuring program has been working to close 29 unprofitable coal pits in the region. Another 230 pits are slated for closure over the next three years.
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