Coal mine accident in Slovenia kills at least 1 miner, leaves 2 missing

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — An accident in a coal mine in northeastern Slovenia killed at least one miner and left two others missing, officials said Tuesday.

Water suddenly rushed into the mine in the town of Velenje on Monday evening, officials and media said. Most miners managed to escape, but three remained trapped, the STA news agency reported.

The director general of the Premogovnik Velenje mine, Marko Mavec, told the agency on Tuesday that chances were slim that the two missing miners are still alive.

Rescue efforts have been difficult because of silt and water that accumulated in the mine, STA said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar called for a thorough investigation “so that similar tragedies can be prevented in the future and the safety of all miners ensured.”

Coal in Velenje is extracted more than 500 meters (1,600 feet) below ground. The mine uses a method of extraction that it established in 1947 that is called the Velenje method, according to the mine’s website.

It includes “expanding the extraction site above the protected area (above the roof supports) and thus exploiting the natural forces of breaking and crumbling of the coal layer.”

Two miners were killed in an accident in Velenje in 2003.