The inspection found a number of irregularities in the "Soko" mine: the Ministry and the families of the victims announce criminal charges
The Ministry of Mining and Energy is preparing criminal charges for the death of eight miners who died on April 1 in the Soko mine. Unlike the judiciary in Aleksinac, which decided that there were no grounds for criminal prosecution for the death of eight miners, the ministry believes that there are elements for filing a criminal complaint, said Minister Zorana Mihajlović. She called on the families of the dead miners to file an objection to the decision. Their legal representative, lawyer Bratislav Stojanović, tells Euronews Serbia that, regardless of the announced action of the relevant ministry, the families will also file a criminal complaint.
According to the report on the inspection supervision of the mining accident, which was ordered by the Ministry of Mining and Energy, a number of irregularities were found in the mine.
Among other things, that the works on field number 99 Soko were carried out without the necessary permission for the execution of mining works issued by the ministry. It was also established that in 2013, the approval for carrying out work on the project of trial excavation of part of the deposit of the Soko pit – Sokobanja expired. The inspection revealed that the consent of the business entity that created the project was not obtained, and that technical control was not performed. Based on the established irregularities, the Republic Mining Inspector issued a measure prohibiting the performance of mining works on exploitation field No. 99 Soko.
Mihajlovic: Many need to explain what they did
The Minister of Mining and Energy, Zorana Mihajlović, stated that the ministry is preparing criminal charges against those responsible for the accident that occurred in April this year, when eight miners lost their lives in the Soko mine in Sokobanja.