Two dead and one missing in coal mine collapse in Poland

Two miners were killed and one remains missing after a cave-in at the Myslowice-Wesola coal mine in southern Poland early on Tuesday.

Authorities say 12 people were also injured.

The cave-in happened around 3:30 am local time, some 870 metres underground in an area where 15 miners were working, authorities said.

Two of the miners located by rescuers and brought to the surface were declared dead, while one was being taken to the hospital.

Eleven other miners were rescued earlier from the mine with various injuries, and nine of them remain hospitalized.

Rescuers were still searching for one missing miner but had no contact with him. Six teams of rescuers were working in the area.

The accident happened near the coal face, an area especially exposed to cave-ins or explosions of methane gas, which is present in the rock in many Polish coal mines.

It is the second cave-in at the Myslowice-Wesola mine this year, following one on 17 April that killed one miner. Two other coal mine workers were killed in accidents inside other mines in Poland this year, while in 2023, 15 miners were killed in on-the-job accidents.