Hunt for survivors continues at flooded Russian diamond mine

Eight people are missing in a flooded diamond mine in Russia as rescuers continue to pull survivors from the pit.

More than 100 people have been rescued from the Mir mine in the Sakha region – 4,185 kilometres east of Moscow – but efforts continue to retrieve those still trapped inside.

Yesterday an injured worker was pulled alive from the mine. Alisher Mirzayev is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, according to Mir owner Alrosa.

The 36-year-old is being treated in intensive care for hypothermia, but he is expected to make a recovery.

The flooding started on Friday afternoon when water broke through into one of the mine’s pumping stations from a flooded mine crater that contained about 300,000 cubic metres of water – equal to 120 Olympic-size swimming pools – the emergency situations ministry said.

Alrosa said the flood was thought to have been caused by an “uncontrolled increase in the flow of water” out of the mine’s abandoned crater into the underground shaft.

But the company insisted that all of the mine’s equipment had been subject to regular testing.

The Sakha region’s branch of the investigative committee, which looks at serious crimes, said on Friday that it was investigating possible safety breaches at the mine.

Russian television said the rescue operation at the mine named Mir, or peace in Russian, had been hampered by a power cut that stopped the lift system from working.

Television channels showed footage posted on social media of water flooding into a control room from the ceiling of underground passageways.

Alrosa, which is Russia’s largest diamond producer, said that 133 people had been rescued from the mine. Two were taken to hospital with minor injuries, the region’s health ministry said.

The Mir mine was launched in 2009 and produces a million tonnes of diamond ore per year, according to its website.

The last major mining accident in Russia took place when 36 people were killed in methane explosions at Severnaya coal mine north of the Arctic Circle in February last year.

In 2010, 91 people died after a methane explosion at the Raspadskaya coal mine in the Siberian region of Kemerovo.