Three people have died after the partial collapse of one of the Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel’s processing plants, the company said on Saturday.
The processing plant was maintained at the time of Saturday’s incident, according to Reuters.
The production security of Norilsk Nickel’s locations was recently scrutinized after a major fuel leak at its power plant near the Russian city of Norilsk and several minor accidents that occurred in 2020.
Norilsk has since promised to invest $ 1.4 billion over five years in building up its industrial safety measures.
“This accident shows that these efforts are apparently not enough, and that if we accept responsibility for what has happened, we will tighten the requirements for industrial safety and for the people responsible for it,” said Vladimir Potanin, chief executive. of Nornickel and the largest shareholder, told Reuters.
According to Nornickel, the plant is still undergoing 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 damaging the fuel spill last year. A regional committee has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.