The coal miners deny the version that there was a planned underground explosion at the Bachatskij incision.
[map] [audio commentary of the scientists and of the EMERCOM of Russia (Emergency Control Ministry of Russia). ]
The residents of Belovo and Gurievsk, in the evening on February 9th, were the first to start spreading the information about the fact that there was an earthquake in their cities at 20:25. In this way a message had appeared saying that in the third district of the city “the people ran out from their earthquake-resistant houses”.
"Yesterday I was working my night shift" Vadim, the "BelAZ" truck driver of the Mokhovsk coal incision, told 'Komsomolska Pravda' "at the time of my shift-swap my partner and I saw a blue blaze... It was like a circuit of electricity or welding, but very big! Then came the clouds (chunk) of smoke. They were very low, so apparently it was not an earthquake, but an explosion, and far away.
After that, in about an hour on the radio transmitter was a message that Polysayevo was shaking. The shift manager said that at that time there were no demolition works (‘blasting works’).
I called my wife home. And, indeed, she confirmed that it ‘really trembled a lot' ... I think that the coal miners wanted to secretly make an explosion in the dark, but still the strength of the explosion bothered me, it was just too high”.
.. 'Komsomolskaya Pravda' immediately called the MES (ministry of emergency situations).The duty watch officer of EMERCOM in the Kemerovo region reported that no earthquake in the territory of the Kuzzbass had been recorded. The trembling of the ground, he said, was caused by a planned technological explosion on the 'Bachatskij' coal incision. But ...
The comments of Victor Selezniov, director of the Geophysical Survey SB RAS:
-“So what exactly happened in Kuzzbass yesterday evening?”
-“An explosion”
-“This was an industrial explosion”?
-“Yes”
-“Its’ coordinates point to somewhere near Belovo?”
-“Near Gurevsk. There was a very large explosion in a open cut coal mine.”
-“So there was a one-time tremor, and it was planned explosion.”
-“Yes.”
-“Would you say there are good reasons for civilians start panicing?”
-“There is never a good reason for panic.”
"No. We didn't have any explosion here" - said the dispatcher of the incision factory in the first hour after the tremor. - We are confused.
What could have enstrengthen the underground tremor?"
Closer towards the night, at 20:25 they also felt an underground tremor so strong that the pots of flowers fell from the top shelves of the cabinets onto the floor and even the heavy sofa, on the third floor, sprung up off the floor along with its owner so high up and with ease that his heart missed a beat. A lot of talk began around all the central area of Kuzbass.
The tremor frightened the residents of Belovo, Gurievsk, Salair, Polysayevo, Leninsk-Kuznetsk, Krasnij Brod, and the settlements of Caracan and Bachatskij...
"The chair under me was rocking too" tells Lydia Goryunova, director of the Karakansk school. "I gasped, why haven’t the coal miners, preparing this underground explosion, reported in advance? Our school was already damaged by the same explosion on January 30. At that time the glasses fell out of the cabinets and the glaze tile in the dining room was torn out. And on January 30 an industrial explosion took place at 12:50 when all the kids had been at school. Our building is 108 years old. After the explosion, we just caught our breaths, calculated the damage, and agreed with the coal miners that from now on they would notify the school in advance ... And then last night - a new tremor. But now from which of the incisions has it come from?... There are 9 incisions around our settlement."
By the way, the old residents of the Bachatskij settlement and Leninsk and Belovoa cities said that after 40 - 50 years of living near the mines and incisions, they couldn't remember such an explosion as this one.
Therefore, the 'Komsomolskaya Pravda' asked for an explanation from the most eminent geoscientists. According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), it was a tremor with the magnitude of 4.4. The center of it was at 21 km deep and 87 km south-west of Leninsk-Kuznetsk.
The comments of Sergei Kondratenko, the head of the UDDS (unified dispatcher on duty service) of the Belovo district:
-“From the duty watch officer at the main control station, we have information saying that it was an industrial explosion on the Bachatskij incision. There was no information and isn’t any now about any earthquake.
-“I see...”
-“Look, it is 14:20 now, no other information has been received.
And yesterday when we called the dispatcher of the incision, he confirmed that this was an industrial explosion. And today in the morning, they said: No, there wasn’t any.
-“I have confirmed information, signed by Major-General Arudzhunyany,
which was directed to all heads of the cities and regions of the Kemerovo region, heads of units of the SFR (the State Fire Service); from the main control of the MES of RUSSIA in Kemerovo region”
“A seismic event operational message, according to the Department of Seismological Monitoring data, says that a seismic event has been registered.
And here it confirms that indeed this was an industrial explosion at the Bachatskij incision.”
-“I understand “
“An industrial explosion on the territory of the Belovo district does not represent any danger.
The nearest settlement is the Bachatskij Settlement.
Transmission time 20:37”
The Geophysical Survey of the SB RAS (Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) qualified this ES (emergency situation) not as an earthquake, but as an industrial explosion, it was given the energy class of 10.8 and a magnitude of 3.7. The coordinates of the tremor are 54.56 N.L. and 86.60 E.L.
… But, nevertheless, many of our readers admitted they could not fall asleep for half of the night, they were sitting next to their children and guarding them, they were frightened thinking the tremor could occur once again, and what if it would be even stronger and more dangerous, and that they would need to run out of the houses quickly?. ..
As was explained by the source in the administration of the MES in the Kemerovo Region, "... it was an industrial explosion that was produced in the Bachatskij coal incision. It wasn’t an earthquake. Seismic activity in the Kuzbass is not observed now. Why was it trembling as never before? It happened because of the severe frosts, which have now been observed in the region for a long time.
The soil is now frozen and the ground is firm, that’s why during the industrial explosion such resonance had taken place. It is not surprising to us, by the way. Because in winter, during the incessant 30-40-degrees cold, all tremors are always louder and spread further. Our instruments in the winter, in the cold weather, even hear the tremors occurring in Indonesia. Therefore, for the people of Kuzbass there are no reasons to panic and face insomnia. "
How 'Komsomolskaya Pravda' was looking for the coal incision where the explosion had taken place at that time of the night.
As was reported by the press service of the regional administration today in order to investigate the causes of the tremor (or explosion?) in Kuzbass, a special commission has been created, lead by the Deputy of the Governor, Mr. Valentin Mazikin.
The commission doesn’t have any conclusions yet, and the 'Komsomolskaya Pravda' again called the leaders of the Bachatskij incision. According to the message of the press service of the MES in the Kemerovo region, "... the coordinates of the epicenter coincide with the location of the open coal deposits - the Bachatskij incision"
But, as was explained by the Secretary of Nicholay Priezzhev, the general director of the Bachatskij, coal incision,"... the last planned explosion at the Bachatskij was made on February 9th, at 13:25 local time. After that there were no explosions. According to demolition works regulations, explosions in the dark are prohibited. We follow the rules and we did no such works after 5 p.m.”
… We called the other incisions (Sartakovsk, Shestakovsk, Mokhov, Karakansk) with the exception of Sartakovsk because its’ dispatcher said:"We have a broken drill. We haven’t had any explosions for a week!", We heard the same:
"It was not our explosion."
As in the song,"...it was not my bag."
And - again, back to the Bachatskij incision. As a matter of fact, according to Sergei Kondratenko, head of the unified dispatchers on duty service (Call-center) of the Belovo district, "... an industrial explosion has taken place on the Bachatskij incision, this is an operative message we have received from the regional management of the MES today at 20:37. And yesterday, when we called after the underground tremor, the dispatcher of the incision has confirmed that it was an industrial explosion. Although in the morning they had said: “No, there was no industrial explosion." The final conclusion will be made by the regional commission."