January 11 (SeeNews) - A fire broke out in Serbia's Kolubara coal mining basin on Monday evening and was later extinguished, causing no injuries, state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) said on Tuesday.
The accident took place at the Tamnava-Zapadno Polje pit at around 10 pm local time on Monday, when a large excavator used to deposit mine tailings caught fire, EPS said in a statement.
The fire was put out in four hours, it added.
A Kolubara official, Srdjan Alimpijevic, said in a separate statement that the tailing-management system is currently down but it will be up and running soon.
He added that the accident will not affect the mine's coal output in the long term, noting that coal excavators can continue working with no disruptions.
Apart from Tamnava-Zapadno Polje, the Kolubara basin consists of three other pits. The mining complex accounts for 75% of Serbia's lignite output, according to the EPS website.