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Three dozen rescued after blast in east German potash mine - UPDATED

08 November 2019 17:43 (UTC +04:00)

Around three dozen mine staff in eastern Germany were rescued on Friday after being trapped 700 meters (2,300 feet)below ground following an unexplained blast in a potash mine, police said, APA reports citing Reuters.

The local broadcaster MDR reported that firefighters had carried out a rescue operation, and shortly afterward local police tweeted: “All personnel has been rescued”.

Before the rescue, the mining authority had said one of the staff was seriously injured, according to the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung news website.

The personnel who were underground had taken refuge in a safe sector of the mine in Teutschenthal, about 150 km (95 miles) southwest of Berlin, and been supplied with oxygen.

The mining authority said had said it was possible that the trapped staff could be brought to the surface through a shaft that was intact.

The mine, located just outside the city of Halle, was closed in 1982 but is being used to deposit mining waste from elsewhere, the website said. Around 100 people are employed at the site.

Last month, Halle was shocked by an anti-Semitic shooting attack near a synagogue, in which two people were killed.

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The facility, which is situated about 150 kilometres (95 miles) southwest of Berlin, is reportedly an exhausted potash mine where mineral waste is now stored, APA reports citing Sputnik.

Two people have been wounded by a blast at the Teutschenthal facility, located near the town of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. At the same time, over 30 are believed to be blocked in a safety area underground.

At the same time, MDR has reported that 38 people are trapped at the site.

The facility, which is situated about 150 kilometres (95 miles) southwest of Berlin, is reportedly an exhausted potash mine where mineral waste is now stored, APA reports citing Sputnik.

At the same time, MDR has reported that 38 people are trapped at the site.