Rovine ghiacciate di Vorkuta. Parte 3.

Vorkuta is a coal‑mining town in northeastern European Russia, just north of the Arctic Circle. It and its satellite towns formed the Vorkuta Ring, which included Severny, Tsementnozavodsky, Yur‑Shor, Promyshlenny, Vorgashor, Komsomolsky, Mulda, Zapolyarny, Oktyabrsky, Sovetsky, and others. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many mines closed due to accidents and high operating costs, leading to depopulation and abandonment of the ring towns. The Severnaya (Northern) Mine was abandoned after a disaster in February 2016, when a series of methane explosions at a depth of about 780 metres killed 36 miners and rescuers. The underground fire was extinguished over 65 days by pumping water, and the above‑ground part of the mine was mothballed and dismantled.