Eighteen miners trapped underground after earthquake collapses Polish copper mine

Eighteen miners are trapped underground after an earthquake caused a Polish copper mine to collapse.
The miners are trapped 600-metres below ground at the Rudna mine, which is about 249 miles southwest of the Polish capital Warsaw.
There has been no contact with the miners because the tremor cut communication lines.

Worrying: Eighteen miners are trapped underground after an earthquake caused a Polish copper mine to collapse. It is situated 249 miles southwest of Warsaw, pictured

Mine operator KGHM said in a statement: 'The newest information is that 18 miners are trapped, four people have walked out earlier on their own.'
KGHM spokesman Dariusz Wyborski added: 'There was a quake in the Rudna mine. The rescue operation is difficult because huge amounts of rocks have to be removed.'

The mine is in the Silesia region, near Poland's borders with Germany and the Czech Republic.
It has been in operation since 1974. The operator, state-controlled KGHM, is Europe's second-biggest copper producer.
Poland has large numbers of mines, mostly in the heavily industrialised Silesia region. In 2006, a gas explosion at a coal mine in the region killed 23 miners.
Three years ago, 33 miners in Chile survived for a record 69 days underground.
They were each individually plucked to safety in front of the world's television cameras.

DAILYMAIL