Three people have died in the partial collapse of the processing plants of the Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel, the company said on Saturday.
The processing plant was being maintained at the time of Saturday’s incident, according to Reuters.
Production safety at the Norilsk Nickel site has recently come under public scrutiny after a major fuel leak at its power plant near the Russian city of Norilsk and multiple smaller accidents in 2020, the outlet said.
Norilsk has since pledged to invest $ 1.4 billion over five years in building its industrial safety measures.
“This accident shows that, apparently, these efforts are not enough and we, accepting responsibility for what happened, will strengthen the requirements for industrial safety and for the people who are responsible for it,” said Vladimir Potanin, executive director of Nornickel and the largest shareholder told Reuters.
According to Nornickel, the plant continues to operate with partial restrictions. A regional committee has opened a criminal investigation into the incident, Reuters reported.
The company was fined $ 2 billion earlier this month for fuel damage last year. A regional committee has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.