He survived hell in the mine. What he heard in the hospital sounded like a sentence. "You have no lungs"

– While still in the hospital bed, I swore to myself that we would not abandon our colleagues in need. The mining community has to stick together. I knew some of the injured guys, some were with me in the hospital. One had his face burned, another had his hands. We help each other – emphasizes Mr. Marek.

Mirosław Romańczuk (42 years old) is fighting a fierce battle for his health, but fate is not sparing him. On the fateful day, he and Marek Morgała were on shift together. Mirosław Romańczuk was a combine harvester. Previously, they had only known each other by sight. Romańczuk is a big guy, two meters tall, an honorary blood donor. In critical condition, he was transported by helicopter to the Ludwik Rydygier Specialist Hospital in Krakow. He had 80 percent burns on his body, including his respiratory tract.

– My husband wants to live, he proves it every day. Doctors talk about a great miracle and about the will to live – says Mrs. Kornelia (45), Mirosław's wife, who has been with her husband in Krakow since the accident. The hospital is her second home.

Marek Morgała remembers the day of the accident and everything that happened next in detail.

– The accident itself? It was a shock. My life flashed before my eyes, like in American movies, in a second... I thought I was done for – he says, not hiding the fact that he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Talking about the accident, he gets emotional.

– It was the morning shift. Suddenly there was a terrifying silence. Then something exploded, a strong gust of heat. Then it filled up with mining dust. Dust is the worst, because it suffocates. I started to suffocate, I said to myself, f...k it. You're not getting out of here, but a moment later a thought came to my mind. You're a hanys, you have children... I put on three face masks. There was 30 cm of visibility, I kept tearing forward until I got out, into the fresh air. Later I had to walk 2 km with these wounds. That's how I got out of this hell – recalls Marek Morgała. There were 44 miners 800 meters underground at the time . – You can hear yourself. I didn't see anyone, I was getting out blindly. I fell, I caught something, I stumbled, there was a wall there. Equipment, mining was going on – he says.

In the ambulance to the Siemianowice burn ward, he managed to take a picture of himself and sent a message to his wife. In the hospital, he asked for a cutlet. "I was cold and very hungry," admits Marek Morgała.

– We didn't realize that my husband was in such a bad condition. I was sure that he was going for some procedure to clean his wounds – notes Karolina (37), Mr. Marek's wife. – After the tests, the doctor came and said: "you have no lungs". Your lungs are one big tar, we have to put you to sleep – says Marek Morgała. The doctors were worried whether he would survive. He was in intensive care for 12 days.

– They gave me painkillers and sedatives. I went crazy after taking those drugs. I had nightmares, I remember everything. I dreamed that my hand had been cut off and they had sewn it back on. I said in my waking hours, "look, my hand is sewn on". When I went to sleep, I had nightmares again. One night, it seemed to me that the fans had attacked me through the window. I wanted to defend myself, I ripped out the catheter, the tube from my nose, I wanted to run away, but I couldn't walk. I fell out of bed, I tore everything off in this delirium – he recalls.

That was the case for two critical weeks. Then he started coming back to life. The second stage of treatment came. Much more painful. He had necrosis, so they had to do a so-called curettage of the wounds. "I'm a tough guy. They put me in bed and scraped the necrosis off with a small spoon, because they couldn't do transplants. I didn't want painkillers, because I didn't want to go crazy again," he says. So that he wouldn't scream with pain, he had gauze in his mouth. A nurse stroked his other hand, helping him to endure.

– I left the hospital on March 21. I had a lot of support. The whole village prayed for me. I am a firefighter. People know me. They recorded videos of me at the hospital, they mobilized me. Once all my friends, 150 people recorded themselves, from family to school friends – he says. That is why he knows what support and help means. The wives of injured miners organized and are organizing collections for their husbands' treatment and rehabilitation.

– It all costs money. I have enough money. When I was in the hospital, I knew that the two most injured were in Krakow, they were in a bad way, one of them had already left. Mirek remained. They helped us, we can't leave him – he explains why he started acting. – They recently assigned me to the wall where the accident happened. I didn't know Mirek that well, I heard in the hospital that he was in a bad way – he says.

Mirosław Romańczuk was admitted to hospital in Krakow in critical condition. He had experienced sepsis several times. His leg was amputated and he lost half of his fingers.

- He has one leg and five toes left. My husband's body resembles a large wound - says the distraught Mrs. Kornelia. Mirosław Romańczuk was woken from a coma on March 19, 2025. As Mr. Mirek's wife says, they must now face a reality together that no one can imagine.

– How he fights. He doesn't give up, despite all this pain and suffering. He has come to terms with the fact that he has lost his leg and fingers, he wants to live – emphasizes Mrs. Kornelia. Doctors will reconstruct fingers, cut hands to extend the remaining stumps as much as possible. Mirosław will have to undergo reconstructions, complicated procedures and great pain. Mrs. Kornelia has been with her husband in hospital since the accident . Since January, Kornelia and her family have been haunted by a series of misfortunes. Mrs. Kornelia's father died recently in a house fire.

– Will this nightmare ever end? – asks Mrs. Kornelia. She knows she has to be strong. She doesn't think about herself, about the future, only about her husband regaining his strength. – I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but Mirek deserves to see it – she appeals in despair. She has launched a collection for her husband's treatment. Money can be deposited into a special account .

Marek Morgała is doing everything he can to help his friend. "I am associated with the Górnik Zabrze club, I wrote to the guys, I had a meeting with Lukas Podolski. I got a shirt from him, I sold it at an auction for PLN 4.2 thousand. We also have other players' shirts, goalkeeper gloves, a ball. Everything with certificates, we are preparing auctions at festivals," he says about his plans. He is helped by his wife, who is a volunteer at the pediatric oncology department and also runs animations for the youngest.

Mr. Marek has a lot of plans. During his hospital stay, he did not see his family for a month. During this time , he wrote down his experiences, and his wife also wrote a diary about her love for her husband and the fragility of life. The couple wants to publish their experiences in the form of a book, which they plan to give to their loved ones. "My wife is cheering me on. I have to be in shape for Saint Nicholas. Every year, my friend and I are Saint Nicholas and go around the village collecting donations for oncological children. This is the sixth time in a row. This year has to be special," adds Mr. Marek.

Methane ignition in the Knurów-Szczygłowice mine. 16 people injured. "The condition of all miners who came to us is serious"