Moscow, May 09: Dozens of Russian miners are trapped in Siberia’s largest coal mine after two blasts within hours made rescue work almost impossible.
The methane blast that occurred at 8:55 pm Moscow time on Saturday has reportedly killed eight miners. Twenty-four people have been injured and at least 54 others remain trapped in the mine.
The second blast, which occurred at the country’s largest coal mine in Kemerovo on Sunday, forced the suspension of the rescue operations and might have also trapped 20 rescuers, ITAR-Tass reported.
Of the 312 miners who were underground at the time of the blast, 66 are still trapped, said Valery Korchagin, a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry in the west Siberian region of Kemerovo.
Korchagin said 12 of the injured were hospitalized, while more than 200 miners fled the scene of the explosion.
The Raspadskaya mine produces about 8 million tons of coal a year.
——-Agencies