Russian Mine Disaster: At least 11 Dead, 41 Injured

Eleven dead, 41 injured as coalmine explodes in Russia’s Kemerovo Region

At least 11 people have died and 41 others  injured afetr a coalmine explosions in Russia’s Kemerovo Region, Itar-Tass reported a regional emergency source as saying.

A map of Russia showing the country’s four major coal-producing regions.  The explosion occurred in Raspadskaya mine, Mezhdurechensk,  the Kemerovo region in the Kuzbass basin.   web дизайн © Александр Н. Ставцев.

The explosions occurred in the Raspadskaya mine in Mezhdurechensk, the Kemerovo region, killing eleven miners and injuring 41, the source said.

The rescue operation was suspended indefinitely after a second explosion in the mine, which injured more people, amid billowing smoke from the mine and fears of further explosion, Kemerovo Region Governor Aman Tuleyev said.

“The second explosion destroyed the main air shaft. Some people were hurt on the surface.” The report said.

Raspadskaya coalmine . There is a risk of other explosions, Kemerovo Region Governor Aman Tuleyev, who is at the site, told reporters.

“The rescue work will continue when the atmosphere in the mine is restored, but to conduct rescue work now means to send people to die.”

“After the second explosion, contact with three rescue teams — 20 rescuers — is lost, the source said.” Itar-Tass reported.

Of the 359 people who were in the mine when the first explosion occurred on Saturday at 20:55 Moscow time, 295 have been evacuated.  Some 54 miners and 20 rescuers are currently trapped underground.

Kemerovo region is situated in the major coal-producing Kuzbass basin. The Raspadskaya coalmine is about 3,500km (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, and produces about 8 million metric tons of coal annually.

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