Five Bosnian miners are feared dead after they were trapped underground in a coal mine collapse following an earthquake.
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck the coal mine in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday, causing a gas explosion and the collapse of two tunnels, the Associated Press reported. A few miners were able to escape, but 34 miners were left trapped 1,600 feet underground overnight.
"I was alone...Thank God I managed to pull myself out," Muris Tutnjic, a miner who was able to rescue himself, told the AP. "My colleagues...they were some 200, 300 maybe 400 meters away from me, they got covered."
On Friday, rescuers saved 29 of the miners. But the rescue effort was later called off for five that remained trapped.
"We could not reach that group of people," Amir Arnaut, a rescue worker, told the AP. "We could only reach that first group."
Images from the dramatic rescue show men emerging from the Zenica-based mine covered in dust and coal. Twenty-six miners were taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Six others were badly hurt, the AP reported.
Family members at the scene embraced the men once they learned they were safe.
"He is alive!" Admira Durakovic, whose husband was rescued, said before crying tears of joy.
Other relatives wept tears of sorrow upon hearing the fate of the five miners. Officials said the victims will not be declared dead until their bodies are found.
The scene was also one of anger and outrage as union leaders slammed the mine's managers for bringing rescue equipment seven hours after the explosion and tunnel collapse, the AP reported. They also accused authorities of initially reporting that only eight people were trapped in the mine.
Mine manager Esad Civcic told the AP the mine used to be one of Europe's most advanced but became outdated after a costly war in the early '90s.
"Mine accidents cannot be avoided," Civcic said.
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