BERLIN: Around three dozen mine staff in eastern Germany were rescued on Friday after being trapped 700 meters (2,300 feet)below ground following an unexplained blast in a potash mine, police said.

The local broadcaster MDR reported that firefighters had carried out a rescue operation, and shortly afterward local police tweeted: “All personnel have been rescued”.

Before the rescue, the mining authority had said one of the staff was seriously injured, according to the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung news website.

The personnel who were underground had taken refuge in a safe sector of the mine in Teutschenthal, about 150 km (95 miles) southwest of Berlin, and been supplied with oxygen.

(Agencies)