A rescue team enters the CSM coal mine in Karvina, Czech Republic on December 20, 2018.
/AP
PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Thirteen miners died and 10 were injured after a fire caused by burning methane erupted in a black coal mine in the east of the Czech Republic, a spokesman said Friday.
“In total we have 13 dead miners, 11 Polish and two Czech,” Ivo Celechovsky, spokesman for the OKD mining company, told AFP.
The accident occurred at a depth of 880 meters at the CSM mine in the city of Karvina, about 300 kilometers east of Prague, on Thursday afternoon.
Rescuers found five dead miners on Thursday and reported eight missing. All of them were also found dead.
Celechovsky said the fire was still burning, with rescuers building barriers to stop it from spreading.
He added they would work there at least until Sunday.