As a result, part of the mine was flooded.

A team of mine rescuers descends into the Mir mine. Photo: RIA Novosti

At the time of the water breakthrough, there were 151 people in the mine. 142 workers managed to get out, 9 were blocked. One of 9 Alisher Mirzaev, was able to get out within a day. For almost 30 hours, the 36-year-old worker swam through the mudflow that filled the mine. According to his family, he managed to accomplish the impossible thanks to his excellent physical fitness and knowledge of the mine's topography.

His amazing case of survival has inspired everyone who waits and believes in the salvation of those remaining underground. The rescue operation involved not only emergency services forces, but also industrial climbers. They are trying to tap the rocks in the hope of hearing a response from the yet to be found miners. Do they have a chance? If we remember the sensational story of the Chilean miners who were buried underground in August 2010 and held out there for 69 days, then there is hope. However, experts are not so optimistic.

In the place where this mine is located, there is a lot of permafrost under groundwater, - comments Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Deputy Director of the Institute of Permafrost Science Viktor Shepelev. - Previously, ore was mined in an open pit from a giant quarry. Currently, mining is carried out only underground. So, when working in an open pit mine, water was pumped out. But now this system has been abandoned.

As reported by AiF head of the trade union "Profalmaz" Motryona Skryabina, relatives of 8 trapped miners flew to Mirny from cities in Russia and Ukraine. At the moment, nothing is known about the fate of the miners.

By the way

A state of emergency was introduced in Primorye due to a typhoon, which led to the flooding of several villages and towns. Temporary accommodation centers are open in 4 districts of the region; they can accommodate from 50 to 250 people. Everyone whose homes were damaged by the disaster has been promised financial assistance. In addition to houses, railway tracks were damaged. Passengers from stopped trains were transported to the nearest stations by bus. The authorities also recommend not traveling to China through road checkpoints during the disaster. Presumably the typhoon will leave the region after August 10.

Posted transcripts of audio recordings from a meeting between officials, rescuers and representatives of Alrosa with the relatives of miners trapped inside the Mir mine. Let us remind you that the water breakthrough occurred on August 4, and partial flooding began. There were 151 people in the mine at the time of the accident. It turned out that the shift change was not carried out on the surface, but right below. Most of the miners were saved. The fate of eight people, four of whom are our fellow countrymen, is still unknown. Relatives of Belgorod residents immediately flew to Yakutia.

Best Video from VK: how the mine was flooded (youtube video).

Meduza presumably says when the meeting with the relatives of the trapped miners took place: August 8 or 9. From the transcripts it becomes clear that the rescue work was actually stopped because a new water breakthrough occurred on the night of August 7. It “dangerously accumulates” outside the mine and does not leave. Water does not flow to the few pumps that continue to operate after the first flood. The new ones haven't been installed yet. It is technically impossible to directly lower the pipe into the quarry and pump out the water that accumulates.

Rescuers asked Alrosa hydrogeologists to make a calculation of where and at what moment a new breakthrough could occur, but it turned out that such predictions were impossible to make in principle.

In such conditions, rescuers cannot be allowed into dangerous areas of the mine: due to a new breakthrough, they could be flooded and die. Therefore, the guys work only where it is safe.

- Search efforts are limited due to the fact that the water level is rising. If on average the water was at 152 meters, now it is at approximately 145 meters,” the transcript says.

In response to the main question for the relatives, how long the miners will be able to hold out in the mine, a representative of the rescue operation headquarters answers: “If without food, with a small supply of water, at the rate of seven to nine days.” Five of them have already passed, today the sixth has arrived...

The website of the Ministry of Emergency Situations states that work at the Mir mine continues around the clock in particularly difficult and dangerous conditions. More than 300 people and over 30 pieces of equipment were involved in the rescue operation. All ventilation wells drilled into the side of the Mir open-pit mine and connected to underground workings where miners may presumably be located have been checked. Climbers - miners of mountain slopes managed to descend to the bottom of the quarry, to a depth of 525 meters. The descent took almost 8 hours. At the same time, the sides of the quarry are not stable, the rock mass is in constant movement. Due to the dust, there is practically no visibility, and it is difficult to breathe in such conditions. Climbers examined the entire planned search area, sounding signals. In the flooded part of the workings there are mechanisms, boulders, pipes - everything that was brought in by water. “This is the first time we have to work in such conditions. Breathing apparatus are designed to work in water, but here there is brine and mud,” says Nikolai Myasnikov, who heads the mine rescue work.

Russia in Yakutia confirmed the suspension of search and rescue operations at the Mir mine.

According to rescuers, the situation “looks like a dead end.”

“At the emergency Mir mine, underground work is prohibited. The risk of flooding in the underground workings of the Mir mine remains. It is not possible to drain water from the quarry in a controlled manner. As long as there is a danger of a large volume of water collapsing into the mine at once, any underground work is prohibited,” the headquarters said.

In addition, gullies with a volume of more than 100 thousand cubic meters formed in the salt rocks of the mine. With such a number of gullies, the lower ledge of the quarry may collapse, which will cause destruction of the mine workings. Therefore, further work by rescuers is impossible, according to the official press release from ALROSA.

“According to 9.10 local time on August 26, 37,400 cubic meters of water had accumulated in the quarry bowl.

The threat of a single, uncontrolled flow of such a quantity of water into the mine makes it impossible to carry out any underground work,”

— ALROSA reports.

Carrying out directed explosions to bypass hard rock at the bottom of the quarry is now prohibited - under current conditions this could lead to a new disaster. The controlled release of water from the quarry also did not bring results. In the current situation, carrying out any work in underground conditions is prohibited by federal safety measures.

After attempts to drain the water ceased, the decision was made to carry out a series of targeted explosions in the pit bowl to expand the reservoir between the pit and the mine, reducing the amount of water. Unfortunately, the intensity of blasting on the surface could cause collapses of the quarry walls. Hydrologists recommended stopping further blasting.

Three weeks have passed since the accident. Medical staff from the expert commission believe that after such a period, it is unlikely that any of the miners remaining underground could have survived - the conditions that developed under the thickness of the rock and water were too extreme.

“The human body is not capable of surviving without drinking water, food, in conditions of high humidity and flooding of the mine with mudflows with a high content of hydrogen sulfide and salts for such a long period,” explained the ALROSA company.

The accident at the Mir diamond mine occurred on August 4. As a result of a water breakthrough from the quarry, the mine horizons were flooded. Due to the strong flow of water, carrying pieces of rock, the mine workings were destroyed, two horizons and all equipment were flooded.

At the time of the disaster, there were 151 people in the mine. On the first day, rescuers evacuated 142 people from the mine; the next day, another miner in serious condition was able to contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations, being at a depth of 410 meters underground.

According to the presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, at a meeting on August 14, rescuers expected to reach areas where missing people were supposed to be located on different horizons within one and a half to three days.

"The most main task“What we are seeing now is to try to save people, so rescue work continues and will continue as long as necessary and as long as possible due to mountain conditions,” Trutnev added.

A week ago, mine rescuers stopped searching for four miners at horizon -310 of the flooded Mir mine. This decision was due to the fact that the horizon was filled with water “at a level of more than a meter,” which made further searches there pointless. The operation to rescue miners at the 210th horizon continued, but today it became known that it had ended without result.

The head of ALROSA said that what happened was a tragedy for the entire company.

“It is with a heavy heart that I have to report that there is no hope left that the remaining workers in the mine will be brought to the surface alive. We are deeply shocked by what happened. The realization that we did everything possible to save people, unfortunately, cannot serve as a consolation for their families and friends,” he added.

Eight people remained buried in the diamond mine. Drilling rig operators, Dmitry Maryin, Mikhail Neustroev, longwall miner Gleb Mirontsev, acting. the head of the site, the shift foreman of the site Valentin Misnik and the explosivesman are considered dead.

11:33 — REGNUM The flooding of the Mir mine 10 days after the accident still raises many questions, the answer to which can be considered the result, or rather its actual absence: eight workers continue to remain in the mine. This is a painful statement of fact that causes internal trembling. How are they doing? What did they have to endure? Are they alive? When will they be found? Who will bear responsibility for their suffering? Can the result of the search and rescue operation be considered an answer to the question asked by the relatives of the miners walled up in the mine: what is more valuable to ALROSA - people or diamonds? Discussions about the company's losses and plans for how to restore production volumes lost due to the accident seem strange given the fact that people still continue to remain underground.

During these ten days, rescuers searched the mine in search of miners and removed the rubble as far as possible, but work proceeded slowly due to the threat of new flooding. Only a week after the emergency, on August 11, the diamond mining company eliminated the threat of a second water breakthrough into the mine and was conducting search and rescue work in three shifts for the second day. Why wasn’t the threat of a new breakthrough removed earlier, ideally before the miners were released into “Mir”? Why wasn't the water simply pumped out?

Regional media editor Vladimir Nifontov on his Facebook he suggested that even now, in a critical situation, the pumps installed by ALROSA are unsuitable, therefore they do not cope with their task, and water remains in the mine.

“Theoretically, the pump capacity should be sufficient. The mine must be dry. And it drowns her. Along with cold, water is now the main factor killing survivors. My fears were confirmed - ALROSA installed CNS water pumps. And they only use clean filtered water." “,” the journalist noted, suggesting that the pumps installed by the company will not be able to pump out the pulp (a mixture of water and soil), which means that the horizons below 310 will be flooded with it, it will be impossible to get there, and yet, judging by the ALROSA infographics, there are three person...

Vladimir Nifontov basically calls the conditions in which the miners found themselves difficult to survive.

“The temperature in the face under ideal conditions in summer is plus 10, maximum plus 15. This is with working ventilation, pumping warm air. Now, in clogged horizons, with icy water, it is probably just above 0 degrees. Total: miners in the mine for the 8th day without water and food, in the cold, with oxygen unknown, wet, in the dark.” , the journalist suggests.

In such conditions, people continue to remain underground, and discussion of the emergency on social networks is becoming increasingly emotional. The Yakut residents remind the diamond mining company that it has money, with the help of which it might be possible to speed up the rescue of people.

“ALROSA cannot pump out water! ALROSA, Karl!”, “In a similar situation, the Chilean government immediately called in foreign experts. Why didn’t ours do the same?”, “Hope dies last, but facts are facts. They are not being saved! We fly into space, but we cannot save 8 people from underground!!!” There are also categorical proposals expressed on social networks:“Ivanov should be removed from office and put on trial”.

The largest accident at the Mir mine occurred on August 4. Due to a massive breakthrough of water from the quarry, the mine was flooded, where at that time there were 151 people. 142 miners were urgently evacuated; on August 5, another person escaped from the mine. The fate of the eight miners remains unknown. Relatives of the missing miners told OK-inform: after the search for their relatives is completed, they intend to come to Moscow and talk about all the numerous violations committed by Alrosa during mining, which ultimately led to the Yakut tragedy.

The largest accident at the Mir mine occurred on August 4. Due to a massive breakthrough of water from the quarry, the mine was flooded, where at that time there were 151 people. 142 miners were urgently evacuated; on August 5, another person escaped from the mine.

The headquarters for the elimination of the accident at Mir noted: at the time of the flooding of the mine, which occurred on August 4, four workers were most likely at horizon-310 (this is indicated by the data of electronic tags installed in the miners’ helmets). Now rescuers continue to clear the rubble and search for four more miners on horizon-210.

The Mir diamond mine is located in the harshest region of the Russian Federation - Yakutia. Since 1957, diamonds have been mined in the quarry by open-pit mining and eventually a hole of titanic proportions has been dug in the ground: its depth is 525 meters, its diameter is 1,200 meters. The huge funnel is clearly visible today even from space. However, at the end of the 2000s, it became unprofitable and dangerous to extract diamonds using the mountain mining method, and the management of Alrosa decided to “go underground.” Geological research has confirmed that diamonds remain under the exhausted quarry, and in large quantities. As a result, in 7 years and 22 billion rubles, a mine several hundred meters deep was built under the quarry.

At the same time, danger for the miners was always nearby: water was constantly flowing from the walls of the huge funnel to the bottom. More precisely, not water, but a salty slurry, deadly for all living things. During open-pit mining, it was constantly pumped out using a system of powerful pumps. But when the development went deep underground, Alrosa decided to leave a thin layer of ore (ore pillar) between the bottom of the quarry and the mine - as a natural protection against flooding, and covered it on top with a clay “cushion”. Powerful pumps were installed to pump out the constantly seeping water. It was also decided when mining diamonds not to collapse the ore in layers, but to gradually go from top to bottom, filling the mined-out spaces with concrete. But the mortal danger to the lives of miners still remained - after all, as you know, “water wears away stones.”

There were all the prerequisites for the accident

Today, Alrosa management says: the most likely cause of the accident was a spontaneous increase in water flow from the exhausted quarry into the underground mine. And the flooding of the mine with salty slurry occurred “due to a sharp deterioration in mining and geological conditions and erosion of rocks in the quarry.” According to geologists, there was no surprise in the fact of the accident - as it turned out, all the prerequisites for it had been created.

Experts indicate: serious problems at the Mir mine began a long time ago. Alrosa executive director Igor Sobolev said back in 2011 that the “lining” of ore and clay that protected the mine from flooding had leaked.

Experts point out that serious problems at the Mir mine began a long time ago. Alrosa executive director Igor Sobolev said back in 2011 that the “lining” of ore and clay that protected the mine from flooding had leaked. Then he said: “There are serious problems at the Mir mine, an unplanned flow of water into the mine has begun.” However, diamonds from Yakutia regularly entered the state treasury, and Moscow decided not to stir up this story. Then in 2012, during an inspection, Rostekhnadzor revealed that “work on the construction of a drainage horizon at a depth of 210 meters is being carried out with deviations from the design documentation and the construction of non-design drainage schemes.” In April 2013, one of the miners died at the mine due to a rock collapse - but this was written off as “production costs”, and the relatives were paid compensation.

Finally, literally a week before the tragedy at Mir, a rock collapse occurred at a depth of 300 meters. A mass of ore covered the loading machine in which the operator was located. The miner was hospitalized in serious condition, and on the same day water began to actively flow into the mine. Specialists immediately began installing additional pumps to pump out water and drilled new wells to drain it into the main reservoir at horizon-210. It was July 28th. According to the rules, if the preconditions for a major accident were created, then all work at the mine had to be stopped.

But the owners of Mir did not listen to the voice of reason - diamond mining continued. As a result, on August 4 it exploded: streams of brine literally flooded the mine - and tens of tons of rock collapsed, burying 8 miners. A criminal case has been opened regarding the accident, which will most likely involve managers and, possibly, even top managers of the mining company. OK-inform asked the relatives of the missing miners how their relations with Alrosa are being built today.

Alina Misnik, daughter of Valentin Misnik, site foreman:

We were told that the rescue operation on the 310th horizon had been completed today - and work could not continue because “it was completely flooded.” Relatives of the miners who were blocked on 310 were gathered early in the morning at the mine administration. And we, people whose relatives disappeared on another level, were informed about this meeting later - apparently, so as not to confuse those who still have hope with those for whom it has disappeared today. But all the relatives of the missing miners communicate with each other on social networks and instant messengers, so we also knew in advance about the termination of the search at Horizon-310.

On August 2, one of the miners, while in the mine, took a video on his mobile phone of water pouring down the walls. And there have been more than one or two such videos lately! It is clear that the company bosses were well aware of this.

We assume that the work stopped yesterday, but since there were high-ranking officials at the mine: the presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev and the President of Yakutia Dmitry Borisov, they did not report such terrible news in their presence. We waited until they left.

All relatives of the miners are sure that the preconditions for the tragedy had been present at the mine for a long time - and work at it should have been stopped back in July. On August 2, one of the miners, while in the mine, took a video on his mobile phone of water pouring down the walls. And there have been more than one or two such videos lately! It is clear that the company bosses were well aware of this. They said: on August 3, no one will go down into the mine. But on the 4th, the miners were ordered to go down to the mine face - and most of them barely managed to get out before the accident. Who needed it? And who decided to send people to emergency slaughter?

When the first water breakthroughs into the mine began at the end of July, Alrosa management spoke about some kind of “redistribution of water in the soil” - they say this is a normal, routine process. But geologists already said then: this is some kind of nonsense, such processes simply cannot exist! We also all knew that the company saved a lot on safety precautions. And workers who dared to “make waves” about this were threatened with dismissal.

In any case, we will ensure that the search continues until our relatives are found. Let the company find any technical possibilities for this! Some of the relatives of the miners even personally went down into the mine to see with their own eyes how the search was being carried out. Although, of course, they were not carried out to the end of the excavation - they said that “there is too much water there.” Today, the management of Alrosa is already talking about paying us compensation if our relatives are not found. But we need, first of all, our fathers and brothers - alive or dead, and not some money!

Alexey Maryin, brother of Dmitry Maryin, drilling rig operator:

I personally went down to the 310th horizon twice - I can honestly say: it was, of course, almost completely flooded. And the specialists are not able to pump out the water; technically they cannot do anything! Or maybe they don’t want to, maybe they were just playing for time to avoid new victims - already among the rescuers. And on the 210th, the work really continues: rescuers are raking out the rubble, cutting all these pipes... The boys were drowned there alive - and that’s all!

I, as a person who went down into the mine twice, asked them: why such and such things were not there? But our questions were simply cut out of the TV report! It’s as if we weren’t at this meeting! They needed to make a picture - “everything is fine, the rescuers are working”, etc.

Yesterday a council of these “bigwigs” met at the mine - the presidential envoy came, others... well, what conclusions could they draw there? Yesterday I was at this meeting with other relatives - Aksenov, Trutnev and Borisov were there. We asked them questions directly: “How were safety precautions observed in the mine?”, “Has everything been done to save people?” - etc. I, as a person who went down into the mine twice, asked them: why such and such things were not there? But our questions were simply cut out of the TV report! It’s as if we weren’t at this meeting! They needed to make a picture - “everything is fine, the rescuers are working”, etc.

By the way, a cameraman from the Rossiya TV channel was with us in the mine - he was filming everything there, filming the water-filled horizon and so on. But they didn’t show this on TV either - apparently they didn’t want to scare people. I didn’t see a single shot on TV! It is beneficial for someone to hide many facts, delay rescue efforts, etc. Even President Putin was reported on the progress of the rescue of our relatives - but 12 days have already passed, and there is no result!

We still have hope that they will be saved; we will believe to the last that they are alive. But when all this rigmarole is over, we will definitely go to Moscow - and give an interview for at least two hours, we will tell everything about how safety was allegedly observed at the mine. Let people see the conditions in which miners work! There are so many violations there, you can’t even imagine! If you conduct a normal investigation there, you will find a million of them there. It seems to me that it is easier for Alrosa to flood the mine now so that all this does not open up, then wait until everything calms down, pump out the water and continue working the same way! In my opinion, this is exactly what they are trying to achieve. And people will also go to the slaughter, because they need to live on something, they need to feed their children. It's like a vicious circle!

Were there any preconditions for the accident? Well, what do you think, if the miners, a week before the breakthrough, directly turned to Putin and asked: “The mine is flooding, take action”! But, apparently, nothing ever reached him. As a result, they reported to the president about the causes of the tragedy only on August 14 - when our relatives had been immured there for 11 days! I will look for my brother here to the last, they won’t kick me out of here - not the cops, no one! I’ll find where to live here, and so on. But they have no right to stop the search; there can be only two reasons for this - either by presidential decree or by refusal of relatives.

List of Mir mine workers whose search continues:

1. Vlasenko Alexey Vladimirovich, drilling rig operator;
2. Gulyaev Roman Sergeevich, drilling rig operator;
3. Dmitry Mikhailovich Maryin, drilling rig operator;
4. Misnik Valentin Anatolyevich, site foreman (replacement);
5. Stepanov Igor Anatolyevich, blaster;
6. Kulikov Vitaly Vitalievich, acting site manager;
7. Mirontsev Gleb Aleksandrovich, longwall miner;
8. Mikhail Yuryevich Neustroev, drilling rig operator.