Dozens of Workers Killed in Accident at Kaunokka Mining Facility

Kaunokka - A blast at a Deep Core Mining Inc. moon facility in Kaunokka has taken the lives of at least 23 workers, system authorities say. The cause of the accident is not yet clear, but the corporation says it was following all relevant industrial safety procedures.

According to preliminary reports, a gas pocket exploded somewhere under the facility, damaging one of the residential habitats. Most of the off-shift workers in the habitat were killed by the resulting decompression, save for a few who managed to get to their emergency spacesuits in time.

While industrial accidents are not uncommon in Caldari State, it is hard to estimate the exact loss of life per year, as record keepers do not generally publish that kind of information. Deep Core Mining representatives have issued a brief statement saying that the corporation "strictly adheres to all of the mining industry's standard safety procedures.'

Built 11 years ago, the facility at Kaunokka Planet III Moon I was the first moon station to utilize the mining drill technology patented by DCMI at that time.

Deep Core Mining Inc., a subsidiary of CBD Corporation, was one of the first beneficiaries of the Caldari-Amarr Economic Stimulus Agreement (CAESA), and has been stepping up production aggressively ever since.