Six miners killed in Georgia in coal mine accident – officials

TBILISI, April 5 (Reuters) – Six miners were killed and three injured on Thursday when the roof of a coal mine in western Georgia collapsed, the country’s interior ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that the accident had occurred at the Mindeli mine in Tkibuli, 200 km (124.27 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi.

Dimitry Kumsishvili, the economic development minister, said that the accident had been caused by a pressure bump.

“Six men were killed at the Mindeli coal mine,” he told reporters. “According to experts, it was a pressure bump. Three men were transferred to a hospital.”

The mine is operated by Sakhnakhshiri, a Georgian company. Ten miners have died at the mine in different accidents since 2011.

(Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Andrew Osborn)