Rescue efforts halted in Polish mine blast

Rescuers have suspended efforts to reach seven people trapped in a coalmine in southern Poland, after methane gas explosions injured 10 of the rescuers in a shaft overnight.

Five miners were killed in the initial explosion on Wednesday, and 25 were hospitalised, according to JSW, the company that owns the Pniowek coal mine in Pawlowice.

The seven missing people were trapped in a shaft at a depth of around 1000 metres.

The rising concentration of methane underground had become too dangerous, JSW Chief Executive Tomasz Cudny told reporters.

“It’s a very difficult decision,” Cudny said after the rescue operations were suspended.