OREANDA-NEWS. May 11, 2010. A terrible human tragedy has occurred at a Raspadskaya mine: dozens of miners are trapped underground, and rescue organizations are doing everything possible to save them. In this unfortunate tragedy, we prefer to comment on the human aspect, rather then the impact on the company stock.

On May 8 and 9, two underground blasts rocked the Raspadskaya coal mine, killing 43 and leaving 47 people missing. At present, a large-scale rescue operation has been deployed at the mine. The cause of this tragedy is not known yet. Officials say the blast was caused by a methane outburst.

The mine accounts for about 60% of the total coal output Raspadskaya (RTS: RASP). Officials have refused to make any assessments of the monetary damage caused by the accident for the time being, or name even approximate dates needed for the rehabilitation of the mine’s production capacities.