An underground methane gas explosion killed up to 18 miners at a coal pit in northern Russia yesterday.
Russian president Vladimir Putin dispatched his disasters minister to the scene to oversee rescue efforts.
Rescue workers said they had brought 10 bodies to the surface at the Vorkutinskaya mine, owned by large Russian steel company Severstal, in the icy Komi region and were trying to recover eight other corpses.
About 250 people had been at the pit at the time of the blast, about 800m (2,600ft) below the surface, but most had escaped or been rescued, officials said.
Although mine safety has improved since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, fatal accidents are frequent in Russia’s ageing pits. Most incidents have been attributed to methane blasts, negligence or a failure to follow safety regulations.
“We need a clear and understandable picture of what happened,” Russian emergencies minister Vladimir Puchkov told local officials and rescue workers via a video link-up soon after the explosion.
Mr Putin sent his condolences and ordered Mr Puchkov to travel to Komi, about 1,200km (750 miles) northeast of Moscow, to oversee the rescue.
– (Reuters)