Three Miners Remain Missing

Five days after the collapse of Hejdak mine near the city of Ravar in Kerman province which trapped four young miners, one is found dead but there is still no information on the fate of the other three mine workers. Meanwhile, similar to many previous disasters, the officials in charge are giving contradictory press releases, some indicating the death of all trapped miners and others pointing to the possibility of their survival 600 meters underground.

Yesterday Houshyar Ahmadi, in charge of public relations of the labor department of Kerman province, hopeful of the miners survival, said, “According to the Ukrainian consultant of the mining company, if the three trapped miners are taking shelter under the mine’s support beams, they will have enough air to breath and there can be hope for their survival.”

In contrast, the CEO of the Mining Development and Renovation Organization, Hasan Plarak, has expressed his condolences to the miners’ families saying, “Efforts to bring out the bodies of the trapped miners have started.” He also added, “Following the accident, a special committee led by myself and the undersecretary of mining along with expert consultants has been conducting rescue operations with full technological capacity and in close cooperation with rescue organizations in Kerman province.”

But Farajollah Arefi, the governor of Ravar, by saying that the Hejdak mine collapse was a strange and rare mishap, announced, “Therefore the rescue operation has been slow and unfortunately there are still three miners trapped underground but several expert teams have been mobilized since two days ago and are holding meetings to assess all rescue options.”

On the other hand, while the families of the trapped miners have gathered at the mining site of Hejdak in Kerman in anticipation of good news, the public relation official of the coroner’s office of Kerman provided no information on the death of one of the trapped miners and said, “The coroner’s office of Kerman has not yet received the body of the miner allegedly found in the collapsed mine of Eshkili. Therefore this office cannot release any statement on the victims of this accident or their numbers.”

Last year in December another four miners were killed because of gas poisoning in the same Hejdak mine in Ravar. The province of Kerman with its many mines has recently been the scene of a number of mining accidents in which scores of miners have lost their lives. Mehr News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Propagation Organization, has announced that “The coal mines of Kerman following their privatization during the last two years have turned into a tragic stage for mining accidents due to which up to 30 miners have perished so far.” Also Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) quoted from Ayyar Karbakhsh, the secretary of the Labor House of Kerman, “On average one person dies each month and one gets injured each day due to mining accidents in Kerman.”