2018 explosion at Czech OKD mine

20 December marked the second anniversary of the tragedy at one of the Czech Republic’s largest coal companies. At OKD in 2018, a few days before Christmas, a methane explosion killed a total of 13 people (12 Poles and one Czech) and injured another 10. It was one of the biggest mining disasters since the 1990s.

What happened?

When OKD’s management announced in January this year that no worker had died in 2019, it was a major success. Accidents have occurred frequently at OKD’s mines since the 1990s, and they have always taken a toll in human lives.

In 2018, methane exploded at the ČSM mine in the Karviná region in the early evening, 880 metres underground. The methane ignited and devastated several mining workplaces. OKD halted production and began evacuating workers from the mines. The government convened its Security Council, and the Polish side was also informed of the explosion. Poland’s then-prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki arrived at the scene to pay tribute to the victims, as the greater loss of life was on the Polish side.  The miners returned to work seven days later.

Cause

The Czech Mining Authority immediately launched an investigation into the cause of the methane explosion, which continues to this day. However, various theories and speculation began to emerge from the outset of the tragedy. The most likely version, also confirmed by the commission, pointed to a methane concentration several times higher than the required limit. In connection with the higher concentration, some triggering event must then have occurred, possibly human error or a technical fault. However, the investigation has still not been concluded.

The miners themselves suggested possible failings by OKD’s management, which of course rejected such allegations. Some workers said that sensors had been manipulated to reduce recorded methane levels and thus prevent a possible interruption to a shift. Time is money, after all. And every interrupted shift means a lower volume of coal mined that day.
OKD confirmed the presence of sensors in the mines that monitor methane levels, but what happened to prevent the alarm from being triggered remains a question.

Polish criticism

OKD had already been owned by state-owned company PRISKO in 2018. Most of the victims were Polish. It was the Poles who began strongly criticising the Czech side. Among the first to speak out was the father of one of the victims, who pointed to possible manipulation of the sensors by covering them with foil. Former deputy minister Markowski also commented, expressing his dissatisfaction with the Czech side’s lack of transparency regarding the rescue operation.

Markowski pointed to the complexity of the mining site itself and called on OKD’s management to exercise greater caution. The Czech side did not respond to the criticism, merely citing the ongoing investigation and rejecting all speculation.

Hopefully, we will soon learn the outcome of the investigation. At the same time, we can hope that, with mining at OKD nearing its end, a similar tragedy will never happen again. God speed.