Nine feared dead in Russian mine fire
Moscow, Dec 22 : Nine workers were feared dead Saturday after a fire in a Russian potash mine in the Urals town of Solikamsk, local officials said.
"Smoke appeared during the construction of a well. Nine workers were in the zone, and there is reason to believe that these people have died," said a statement issued by an enquiry commission in the Perm region, about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) east of Moscow.
The commission said that eight other people who were also underground when smoke appeared were evacuated without injury, while Russian television showed smoke billowing from the mine.
The Russian group Uralkali, a leading potash producer, operates the mine but said in a statement that the nine missing workers were employed by a subcontractor.
Potash is a common ingredient in fertiliser.
The last major Russian mining accident occurred in August 2017, when eight workers disappeared during a flood in a Siberian diamond mine.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
