On his birthday, Vasile Andrii, a miner from Anina, saved the life of a co-worker who was caught by the explosion deep into the mine. Vasile was the first one to go down in the mine after the explosion hoping to find his pals alive.
Short after the explosion at the mine from Anina, a man went down to look for his pals who were stuck deep into the mine. It was his birthday. He turned 38. One night before the explosion, engineer Iepure told Vasile Andrii that he will not work at the abatis no. 686, where he used to work for a long time, but at the abatis no. 683. "I am not going to another abatis, mister engineer. I have my team and my friends there", Vasile told the engineer. However, the engineer didnât step back.
THE EXPLOSION
So, on his birthday, on the 14th of January, Vasile Andrii was working on an abatis which was 50 meters deeper into the ground than the place where the explosion was to happen.
Early in the morning, at about a quarter to 5, a strong boom and a lot of dust put Vasile to the ground as he was unlocking the hooks from a wagon. "I thought an abatis came down on me", Vasile Andrii says. He took his mask and helmet and went out. He didnât meet one single colleague on his way out. "Did you escape? There was an explosion at 686", were the words he heard from his mates when he got out of the mine. The only thing he was thinking of was that he should have been there with them.
THE SUFFERANCE
"Give me a lamp! Iâm going after my pals. Mister engineer, we might find someone still alive!"⦠He left with the engineer and another colleague. At first, they didnât want to give them the cage, but they eventually went down, even though the director said they couldnât go down in the mine. He met some of colleagues in the gallery and they left together towards the place where the explosion had happened. At f
