Image copyright EPA Image caption Fire is still raging in the shaft, hampering rescue and recovery efforts

At least 13 miners have been killed and 10 more injured in a methane explosion at a Czech coal mine, officials say.

Most of the victims were Polish miners provided by an agency, the state-run OKD mining company said.

Thursday's blast happened 800m (2,600ft) below ground at the CSM hard-coal mine, near the eastern town of Karvina, close to the Polish border.

Managing director Boleslav Kowalczyk said a search operation was being hampered by fire.

"Unfortunately, we have reached a point where it was impossible to move forward, because there was a fire raging and zero visibility," he said.

OKD spokesman Ivo Celechovsky told AFP news agency that 11 of the miners were Polish and the two others Czech.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis is to visit the mine on Friday with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki.

"The blast at the CSM mine is a huge tragedy," Mr Babis tweeted.

A minute's silence for the victims is being held in parliament on Friday, he added.</s>PRAGUE: The death toll from an explosion at a Czech coal mine has risen to 13, among them 11 Poles and two Czechs, the OKD mining company said on Friday (Dec 21).

The state-run firm had said earlier that a methane blast more than 800m underground devastated areas of the CSM coalmine near the town of Karvina on Thursday.

"Due to yesterday's mine disaster, 13 miners lost their lives - 11 Poles and two Czechs," OKD spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said at a televised news conference.

The incident is the worst mining accident in the Czech Republic since 1990, when 30 miners died in a fire at a mine near Karvina, according to a list compiled by the CTK news agency.

OKD said most of the victims and injured were Polish miners provided by the ALPEX company.

OKD managing director Boleslav Kowalczyk said the search of the scene had had to be abandoned due to conditions in the shaft.

"Unfortunately, we have reached a point where it was impossible to move forward, because there was a fire raging and zero visibility," he said.</s>A methane gas explosion in a coal mine in the northeast of the Czech Republic has killed 13 miners, the mining company said on Friday.

OKD, the company that operates the CSM mine near the city of Karvina, said 11 of those killed were Polish miners provided by a contractor agency, while two were Czech.

“Due to yesterday’s mine disaster, 13 miners lost their lives — 11 Poles and two Czechs,” OKD spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said in a televised statement.

A further 10 miners were injured in the blast, with one in a critical condition, the Czech national news agency CTK reported.

OKD’s managing director, Boleslav Kowalczyk, said search and rescue operations had to be called off because of poor conditions in the mine.

“Unfortunately, we have reached a point where it was impossible to move forward because there was a fire raging and zero visibility,” he said in a statement.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, traveled to the mine Friday.

“I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina,” Morawiecki said on Twitter. “This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community.”

“The explosion in the CSM mine is a tremendous tragedy. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the survivors,” Babis added on Twitter.

The Czech leader also said he would assess what assistance his government can provide during his visit to the site on Friday.

The explosion occurred 800 meters (2,625 feet) below the surface just after 5 p.m. local time on Thursday. All underground work at the hard-coal mine was immediately halted and workers were evacuated, the company said.

The disaster is the worst mining accident to occur in the Czech Republic since 1990, when 30 miners died in a fire in another mine near Karvina, CTK reported.</s>The death toll in a methane explosion at a coal mine in the north-east of the Czech Republic has increased to 13.

The death toll in a methane explosion at a coal mine in the north-east of the Czech Republic has increased to 13.

OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said 11 of the dead were Polish nationals while two were Czechs.

Another 10 miners were injured in the explosion on Thursday afternoon at the CSM mine near the town of Karvina. Previously, the death toll stood at five.

Czech public television said two of the injured were still in hospital in the city of Ostrava, with one of them in critical condition. Another miner is being treated in Karvina.

OKD executive director Boleslav Kowalczyk said rescue efforts sre continuing on Friday despite a fire in the mine.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims. Both leaders are expected to arrive at the site of the tragedy later on Friday.

Mr Morawiecki said: “I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina.

“This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community.”

Polish president Andrzej Duda also expressed his condolences on Twitter, saying “O Lord, keep the families of the miners in your care. RIP.”</s>The death toll in a methane explosion at a black coal mine in northeastern Czech Republic has increased to 13, a mining company said Friday.

OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said that 12 of the dead were Polish nationals while one was Czech, correcting information given earlier that said there were 11 Poles and two Czechs.

READ MORE: Over 40 injured in explosion at Japanese bar, officials warn another blast possible

A further 10 miners were injured in the explosion Thursday afternoon at the CSM mine near the town of Karvina.

Polish President Andrzej Duda declared Sunday a day of national mourning for the victims of the tragedy. Flags in Poland will be lowered to half-staff on public buildings and large sporting and entertainment events will be cancelled.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims. The two leaders visited the mine on Friday.

The Polish leader visited two injured miners at the University Hospital in the nearby city of Ostrava. One of them was in critical condition with burns over 50 per cent of his body, hospital spokeswoman Nada Chattova said.

Another miner was release after being treated in Karvina.

READ MORE: Canada co-hosts ‘coal-free day’ at UN climate meeting in Poland

“I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina,” Morawiecki said. “This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community.”

OKD executive director Boleslav Kowalczyk said efforts to recover the bodies were continuing on Friday despite a fire in the mine.

READ MORE: Explosion, fire erupt at MarkWest natural gas processing facility in Houston, Penn.

Authorities have been investigating the accident.

Bohuslav Machek, spokesman for the Czech mining authority said the level of methane in the mine was at least 4.5 times the allowed level at the time of the explosion.

Easily ignitable methane is naturally present at black coal mines, posing a threat for miners.</s>(PRAGUE) — The death toll in a methane explosion that hit a coal mine in northeast Czech Republic increased to 13, a mining company said Friday.

OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said that 11 of the dead were Polish nationals while two were Czechs. Another 10 miners were injured in the explosion Thursday afternoon at the CSA mine near the town of Karvina. Previously, the death toll stood at five.

The Czech public television said three of the injured were still hospitalized in the city of Ostrava, with one of them in critical condition. The explosion occurred about 800 meters (2,600 feet) underground.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims. The two leaders were expected to arrive at the mine on Friday.

“I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina,” Morawiecki said. “This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda also expressed his condolences on Twitter, saying “O Lord, keep the families of the miners in your care. RIP.”</s>Rescue personnel prepare to search for missing miners after a methane explosion at the CSM hard coal mine in Karvina, Czech Republic, December 20, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

STONAVA, Czech Republic (Reuters) - A methane explosion killed 12 Poles and one Czech at an eastern Czech coal mine, the OKD mining company said on Friday, in the worst disaster of this kind in almost three decades.

The state-run firm said that a methane blast more than 800 metres (875 yards) underground devastated areas of the CSM hard coal mine near the town of Karvina and the Polish border on Thursday afternoon.

"We stopped underground work immediately, evacuated miners to the surface, and rescuers arrived who inspected the whole location thoroughly," OKD spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said on Czech public television.

OKD had previously said that 11 Poles and two Czechs died, but added later one of those thought to be Czech was in fact a Polish citizen.

The accident is the worst mining disaster in the Czech Republic since 1990, when 30 miners died in a fire at a mine near Karvina in the same region, according to a list compiled by CTK news agency.

OKD said that attempts to rescue eight miners originally reported as unaccounted for had to be abandoned due to conditions in the shaft.

"Unfortunately, we have reached a point where it was impossible to move forward, because there was a fire raging and zero visibility," OKD managing director Boleslav Kowalczyk said.

The affected part of the mine was being sealed off to starve the fire of air and rescue teams would only be able to return to recover the victims at an unspecified date when conditions allowed, he said.

Kowalczyk said a network of methane sensors deployed in the mine had not detected anything unusual prior to the blast.

The Polish victims were miners employed via the ALPEX company, OKD said.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart, Andrej Babis, visited the mine separately on Friday morning. Babis pointed out the risks that search teams facing.

"They were 50 metres from those trapped there, but it was not possible (to advance) without threatening the lives of the emergency workers," he said, adding that the company was looking into ways to compensate the victims' families.

Morawiecki spoke on a similar note. "Of course we will offer care to all of the families of the mining (accident) victims and for all those who survived," he said, according to the PAP news agency.</s>A rescue team is pictured at the CSM coal mime in Karvina, Czech Republic, Tursday, Dec. 20, 2018. The death toll in a methane explosion that hit the coal mine in northeast Czech Republic increased to 13, a mining company said Friday. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

PRAGUE (AP) — The death toll in a methane explosion at a black coal mine in northeastern Czech Republic has increased to 13, a mining company said Friday.

OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said that 12 of the dead were Polish nationals while one was Czech, correcting information given earlier that said there were 11 Poles and two Czechs.

A further 10 miners were injured in the explosion Thursday afternoon at the CSM mine near the town of Karvina.

Polish President Andrzej Duda declared Sunday a day of national mourning for the victims of the tragedy. Flags in Poland will be lowered to half-staff on public buildings and large sporting and entertainment events will be canceled.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims. The two leaders visited the mine on Friday.

"To our knowledge ... there is a fire underground, very high temperature, very high risk of subsequent explosions," Morawiecki said.

The Polish leader visited two injured miners at the University Hospital in the nearby city of Ostrava. One of them was in critical condition with burns over 50 percent of his body, hospital spokeswoman Nada Chattova said.

Another miner was release after being treated in Karvina.

"I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina," Morawiecki said. "This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community."

OKD executive director Boleslav Kowalczyk said efforts to recover the bodies were continuing on Friday despite a fire in the mine.

Authorities have been investigating the accident.

Bohuslav Machek, spokesman for the Czech mining authority said the level of methane in the mine was at least 4.5 times the allowed level at the time of the explosion.

Easily ignitable methane is naturally present at black coal mines, posing a threat for miners.

This story has been corrected to show that the mine is called CSM, not CSA.</s>The death toll from an explosion at a Czech coal mine has risen to 13, among them 11 Poles and two Czechs, the OKD mining company said on Friday. The state-run firm had said earlier that a methane blast more than 800 meters underground devastated areas of the CSM coal mine near the town of Karvina on Thursday, Reuters reports. OKD Managing Director Boleslav Kowalczyk said the search of the scene had had to be abandoned due to conditions in the shaft. The incident is the worst mining accident in the Czech Republic since 1990, when 30 miners died in a fire at a mine near Karvina. OKD said most of the victims and injured were Polish miners provided by the ALPEX company.</s>The death toll in a methane explosion at a coal mine in the north-east of the Czech Republic has increased to 13.

OKD mining company spokesman Ivo Celechovsky said 12 of the dead were Polish nationals while one was Czech.

Another 10 miners were injured in the explosion on Thursday afternoon at the CSM mine near the town of Karvina. Previously, the death toll stood at five.

Polish President Andrzej Duda declared Sunday a day of national mourning for the victims of the tragedy.

Flags in Poland will be lowered to half-mast on public buildings and large sporting and entertainment events will be cancelled.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis have offered their condolences to the families of the victims.

The two leaders visited the mine.

“To our knowledge … there is a fire underground, very high temperature, very high risk of subsequent explosions,” Mr Morawiecki said.

The Polish leader visited two injured miners at the University Hospital in the nearby city of Ostrava.

One of them was in a critical condition with burns over 50% of his body, hospital spokeswoman Nada Chattova said.

Another miner was released after being treated in Karvina.

“I wish to express words of deepest sympathy to all the close victims of the mining disaster in Karvina,” Mr Morawiecki said.

“This is a huge tragedy for all Poles and Czechs. On this difficult day, we strongly show our solidarity and sense of national community.”

OKD executive director Boleslav Kowalczyk said rescue efforts are continuing despite a fire in the mine.
At least 13 miners, eleven Poles and two Czechs, are killed and 10 injured in a methane explosion in a coal mine in Karvina, Czech Republic.