The victims of the 2006 catastrophe in Halemba are commemorated every year by their families and colleagues, as well as trade unionists, representatives of local authorities and the mine management.
At 8.00 a.m. in the church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Ruda Śląska-Halemba, a service for the intention of the tragically deceased miners was held. After the mass, flowers were laid at the nearby cemetery under the commemorative plaque.
Let us recall that the tragedy occurred 16 years ago, on 21 November 2006, in coal seam 506. The wall was earmarked for liquidation, and the miners there were extracting mining equipment worth 70 million PLN. Work continued in a very high-risk area. At around 4.30 pm, a methane explosion and a coal dust explosion occurred at a depth of 1,030 metres underground. Twenty-three miners died. It was the biggest catastrophe in the Polish mining industry for almost 30 years.o