2 Dead Bodies Found in Bulgaria's Collapsed Coal Mine

The Oranovo coal mine is located 2 km away from the town of Simitli in southwestern Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

The dead bodies of the two miners who were trapped after a coal mine collapsed in southwestern Bulgaria on July 16 have been found.

The tragic discovery happened around 9:45 am Friday morning.

Police cruisers and cars of the coroner office from the city of Blagoevgrad are at the scene.

The mine's manager, Valeri Manov, will hold an emergency briefing for the media before 10 am.

Miners Ivan Lazarov, 35, and Nikolay Mihaylov, 42, were trapped 450 meters below the surface underneath an avalanche of mud, rocks and water.

Two other miners, Asen Stoynev, 41, and Hristo Mladenov, 45, died in the collapse.

This is the fourth major accident in the Oranovo mine in the past eight years. Union leaders said the reason for the collapse was poor safety standards.

On Thursday, one miner died inside from an apparent heart attack.

Economy and Energy Minister, Dragomir Stoynev, has pledged to end the "vicious practices" at the Oranovo mine and bring to justice those responsible. He explained the concession might be revoked.

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