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.
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Five, including three children, found dead in Kochi house
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Kochi (PTI): Five persons, including three children, were found dead at a rented house at Vaduthala here on Saturday, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Sreekumari (58), her daughter Aswathi Nair (36), two grandsons aged 14 and 4, and a two-year-old granddaughter.
They were natives of Vilappilsala in Thiruvananthapuram and had been staying in a rented house on Karsaka Road in Vaduthala.
Police suspect that the children were poisoned before Sreekumari and Aswathi hanged themselves.
According to police, the family had been living in the house since February for the treatment of the elder son at a nearby private hospital and were about to vacate the premises.
The incident came to light when a cable TV operator, who had come for work, noticed the two women hanging inside the room through a window and alerted others, police said.
The house owner and police soon reached the spot and initiated an investigation.
Police said Aswathi’s husband had died about eight months ago after the couple had separated.
He was allegedly suffering from liver disease due to alcoholism.
Following his death, neighbours and people close to the family had allegedly blamed Aswathi and her mother, officials said.
A police officer said the family was financially sound, as they were paying a monthly rent of Rs 35,000 and owned property and a house in Thiruvananthapuram.
Police said that a suicide note was recovered from the house.
The bodies were later shifted to Kalamassery Medical College, where postmortem examinations will be conducted on Sunday.
Ernakulam North Police have registered a case and begun an investigation.
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