Russian mining giant Alrosa announced Saturday (August 26) that the search and rescue operation at the Mir Mine is discontinued, as 37,400 cubic meters of water accumulated in the mine’s quarry pit. According to Alrosa, quoted by Rough & Polished, “the threat of an abrupt and uncontrolled breakthrough of such a quantity of water into the underground mine makes it impossible to conduct any underground works”.
According to Alrosa, The rescue operation headquarters reviewed the situation and “all possible options for further action at its meeting at 11:00 local time on Saturday”. The conclusion: “under the current conditions, it is impossible to carry out any work […]”.
The search and rescue operation at the Mir Mine lasted a total of three weeks, engaging 320 people. According to Alrosa, the miners and rescuers spent a total of more than 360 hours under the ground. The search was conducted at a depth of 550 and 600 meters.
President of ALROSA Sergey Ivanov commented: “With a heavy heart, I am forced to say that there is no hope that it will be possible to lift the remaining workers in the mine alive to the surface. We are deeply shocked by what happened. This is a tragedy for the whole company. The realization that we have done everything possible to save the people, unfortunately, can not be a comfort to their loved ones. As the head of the company, I guarantee that the miners’ families will be provided with the necessary support and material assistance – timely and in full”.
