A commemorative ceremony took place in Stonava in the north-east of the
Czech Republic on Friday to honour the thirteen miners who died after a
methane explosion at the ČSM hard coal mine exactly a year ago. Twelve of
the dead were Polish nationals.
Among those attending the event were Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš,
Polish ambassador to the Czech Republic Barbara Ćwioro, representatives of
the OKD company, which operates the mine, and relatives of the victims.
The blast, which occurred about 880 metres below the ground, devastated
some of the underground areas with poor visibility, obstructing the efforts
of the rescue units.