Blast hits Russia's largest coal mine, 2 workers killed, 4 injured

[Turborama]

Source: AP

A methane explosion tore through Russia's largest underground coal mine on Saturday, killing two workers and injuring four others, a regional emergency services official said.

Of the 312 miners who were below ground at the time of the blast, 142 remained about three hours after the explosion and rescue workers were laboring to extract them, said Valery Korchagin, a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry in the west Siberian region of Kemerovo.

The rest have been brought to the surface, including the two dead, he said.

The mine, the Raspadskaya, produces about 8 million tons (8.8 million short tons) of coal a year, according to the company's website.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-eu-russia-mine-blast,0,6525314.story

[Turborama]

1. Update: At Least 7 Dead, Scores Trapped in Siberian Mine Blast

Updated: Saturday, 08 May 2010, 4:09 PM CDT
Published : Saturday, 08 May 2010, 4:09 PM CDT

NEWSCORE - At least seven people were killed and about 66 miners remain trapped underground after a methane gas explosion at the Raspadskaya coal mine in western Siberia, the Ria Novosti news agency reported Saturday.

A total of 11 teams are currently involved in rescue efforts.

The explosion occurred at 8:55pm Moscow time (16:55 GMT). There were 312 people in the mine at the time of the explosion, Yelena Kalabushkina, an emergency official, said.

"The evacuation continues, communication with the miners has been established," ministry spokeswoman Yelena Chernova told Interfax.

The Raspadskaya mine is located in the Kemerovo region in west Siberia, about 1,800 miles east of Moscow.

From: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpps/news/at-least-7-dead-scores-trapped-in-siberian-mine-blast-dpgonc-20100508-jd_7442345

[NOW tense]

2. Seems as if there is a lot of methane blasts lately. n/t

[Posteritatis]

5. They're ... well, not *common*, but have never been that rare either

Seeing more reportage of them lately because of that debacle in West Virginia, but they're definitely a regular sort of event worldwide.

[Turborama]

3. Update: Russia resumes mine rescue effort

Rescue teams have re-entered Russia's largest coal mine that was hit by two deadly explosions, after a build up of gas halted the search for 83 miners believed still trapped underground.

"The rescue effort has restarted. Four teams have been sent into the mine," Valery Korchagin, a regional emergency official, said late on Sunday.

Russian news agencies said the teams were hoping to rescue five people trapped in one part of the mine. Among those still believed trapped were 19 rescue workers who had entered the mine after the first blast. The other 64 were miners.

Emergency workers were also trying to pump air into the mine to disperse the build-up of methane, which caused the two explosions that killed 12 people and injured 41.

Rescue operations involving over 500 people were suspended early on Sunday because of dangerous conditions and fears of further blasts at the Raspadskaya mine in Siberia's coal-rich Kemerovo region around midnight on Saturday.

Full article: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/05/201059223819687513.html

[depakid]

4. Death toll climbs to 30- 60 remain unaccounted for

The death toll from the methane blasts at the Raspadskaya mine, 3,000 kilometres east of Moscow, rose from 12 overnight as more bodies were found underground, emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying.

"Thirty people are dead and the fate of 60 other people in the mine remains unclear," said Mr Shoigu, as quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency.

Seventeen rescuers who were caught in the second of two explosions were found overnight, he said, adding that time was running out to rescue miners from two flooded areas of the mine.

"We have 48 hours," he said.

Rescue teams re-entered the mine late on Sunday after a build-up of methane halted the search for most of the day.

A criminal investigation has been opened into possible safety violations, the prosecutor general's office said.

The mine in the city of Mezhdurechensk had reserves of some 450 million tons of coal and produced 8.9 million tons in 2007, according to the Raspadskaya company.

It says the pit is the largest underground mine in Russia.

More: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/10/2895232.htm?section=justin