More than 40 mine workers are stranded underground in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region after a strike hit a local coal facility on Monday. The incident at the Bilorichenska coal mine occurred when a strike damaged a critical power substation, cutting off electricity to the site.
Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-appointed head of the region, confirmed the entrapment and attributed the attack to Ukrainian forces. Emergency teams are currently working to restore power and execute a rescue operation for the miners.
Rescue efforts underway
Pasechnik stated that authorities have established contact with the trapped workers. He added that the miners have a supply of drinking water, though he did not provide further details regarding their physical condition.
"All the relevant services are taking steps to rescue the miners and restore power to the mine," Pasechnik said in a statement. The regional administration has prioritized the restoration of the power grid to allow for the ventilation and cage-lift systems to resume operation.
Ukrainian officials have not issued a formal statement regarding the strike on the Bilorichenska facility. The region has remained a frequent site of conflict since the onset of the war, with infrastructure targets often caught in the crossfire of ongoing hostilities.
