Two miners injured in a methane explosion in the Wujek-Slask coal mine are in critical state.

Two other miners hospitalized at the St. Barbara Hospital in Sosnowiec, in the industrial region of Silesia, are in serious, but stable, condition. They are conscious and do not have any circulatory or respiratory system disorders. If their condition improves, the two miners will be transported to the Centre for the Treatment of Burns in Siemianowice, for further treatment.

The state of eighteen miners with severe burns, who are already hospitalized at the centre in Siemianowice, is stable. Several other miners with minor injuries were taken to a hyperbaric chamber, which eases pain and helps cure wounds.

It is too early to judge whether or not all the miners injured in the explosion will survive, says the head of the Centre for the Treatment of Burns, Mariusz Nowak. (mg/mmj)