WARSAW, Dec 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Two miners have died due to a methane leak at a Polish mine where a gas explosion killed 14 in 2022, the mine's operator said on Tuesday.

The accident occurred on Monday afternoon at the Pniowek colliery in the Silesia basin of southern Poland, operator Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa (JSW) said.

The two "very experienced" miners were 830 metres (2,723 feet) underground at the time, JSW said.

Eight others were rescued.

Poland, which still relies on coal for nearly 60 percent of its energy, has witnessed a number of mining accidents in recent years.

In April 2022, a methane gas explosion at the same Pniowek mine killed 14 miners and emergency workers.

Polish public television TVP said 15 people have died in mines this year.

Poland is seeking to decarbonise its economy and plans to shut several mines over the coming decades.