Four miners who suffered methane ignition in the Knurów-Szczygłowice mine are still in the Intensive Care Unit of the Burn Treatment Center in Siemianowice Śląskie. According to the director of the facility, the condition of one of the injured has deteriorated. Three people died in the tragedy that occurred last week.
– There are currently four patients in the ICU. Three are in stable condition, while the condition of the fourth – a young man – is deteriorating – said the director of the facility, Mariusz Nowak, during the conference.
Seven injured miners, aged 33-46, are still in hospital, and four of them are in a medically induced coma and require intensive care. The remaining patients are conscious and in cardiopulmonary recovery, but treatment is still complicated and requires further monitoring. – Patients have already undergone preliminary cleansing of burn wounds, enzymatic demarcation and decompressive incisions have been used. We are planning further surgical procedures, said Karolina Ziółkowska, the facility's deputy director for medical affairs.
Accident in the Szczygłowice mineTVN24
“Difficult and time-consuming” treatment process
Representatives of the facility reminded that burns are a microbial disease and the process of their treatment is very difficult and time-consuming. They also added that all patients suffered burns to their respiratory tracts. – Each case is individual and requires great patience. We are fighting for the life of every patient, but we cannot predict how long the treatment process will take – explained Nowak. – The vast majority of the injured had serious burns to the body and respiratory tract, which in such cases is a huge challenge for the medical team – he added. The director also emphasized that all patients are provided with comprehensive medical care, including psychological care, because the situation requires not only physical but also emotional support.
Miners burned in a methane explosion in the Knurów-Szczygłowice minePaweł Szot/Fakty TVN
Mine accident
In the so-called Szczygłowice section of the Knurów-Szczygłowice mine, owned by JSW, on Wednesday morning, methane caught fire in longwall XVII in seam 405/1, below level 850. 44 miners were evacuated from the endangered area. A total of 17 of them were admitted to hospitals. As Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa reported earlier, five employees had left hospitals in Rybnik, Knurów and Gliwice by Friday evening. Seven miners are still in the Siemianowice Burn Treatment Center, and in the hospital. Two people are being treated at Rydygier in Krakow. On Thursday, representatives of the CLO in Siemianowice Śląskie announced that the first of the injured people staying there had died, and that the condition of six others kept there in a medically induced coma was very serious.
On Saturday, the second miner died, a 31-year-old man who also suffered serious burns. On the same day, before 8 p.m., the third victim died – a 29-year-old miner who suffered 80% burns. body surface, including over 30 percent third degree burns.
Investigation of causes
In the mine, on Wednesday, after all the injured were transported to the surface, the isolation of the endangered area began – so far in the rescue operation regime. The action is supervised by the District Mining Office (OUG) in Rybnik with the participation of the State Mining Office (WUG). The District Prosecutor's Office in Gliwice has already initiated an investigation into the incident. The proceedings will be conducted by police officers from the provincial headquarters in Katowice, specialists from the disaster team, which was established in 2017. The causes and circumstances of the incident will be investigated by the OUG in Rybnik, under the supervision of WUG. The President of the WUG also decided to commission expert opinions from mining aerology specialists, commissioned subordinate services to carry out safety analyzes in longwall areas with methane hazards, and announced a request to mining companies for an extraordinary analysis of such regions. As written in the study “Conducting the methane drainage process of longwall XVII in seams 405/1 and 405/3 in the KWK Knurów-Szczygłowice Ruch Szczygłowice coal mine”, published last spring in the collection summarizing the 12th School of Mining Aerology, “wall XVII in seam 405 /1 and 405/3 are the most methane longwall exploited so far in the 62-year history of the mine.
Main photo source: TVN24