MONUMENT TO THE FALLEN MINERS – Vrdnik

MONUMENT TO THE FALLEN MINERS – Vrdnik

The Vrdnik mine was one of the most dangerous coal mines in the Balkans due to methane activity and bentonite clays, which deformed the underground structures and posed a constant risk of tunnel collapses and other underground spaces.

The greatest tragedy in the mine’s history occurred on March 24, 1958, when, performing their duties, the miners lost their lives in a fire in the blind shaft of Morintova VIII: supervisor Ljudevit F. Jeraj, miner Franja Majhenšek, assistant miner Ivan S. Kin, and driver Slobodan S. Ravić. Their tragic joint death is commemorated by a monument erected by the people of Vrdnik at the Catholic cemetery.

The first report from Vrdnik on this event, signed by Đ. Beljanski, a correspondent from Novi Sad, was published on Wednesday, March 26, 1958, in the Belgrade newspaper Politika:

“Vrdnik, March 25. In the eastern section of the Vrdnik coal mine yesterday evening around 7:30 PM, a serious mining accident occurred in which four miners were killed, while the remaining workers at the site managed to escape certain death with only minor poisoning. Despite the devoted and rapid intervention of the rescue team, the bodies of the deceased miners have not yet been retrieved from the shaft as of today at noon. According to the information established so far, this tragedy occurred due to a fire that, immediately after breaking out, produced suffocating carbon dioxide and monoxide in the lower section of the mine. At that time, 24 miners were working in that area and, upon sensing the spread of this poisonous gas, began fleeing toward the exit…”

Vrdnik

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