Russia coal mine explosion death toll increases to 18

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.

This is the latest in a long line of fatal accidents at Russian collieries.

About 250 people had been at the pit at the time of the blast, about 800 meters (2,620 feet) below the surface but most had escaped or been rescued, government officials said.

The explosion is likely to renew concerns about safety at Russia's ageing pits, where accidents are common, often because of such explosions, negligence or a failure to follow safety regulations.

“We need a clear and understandable picture of what happened,” Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov told local officials and rescue workers via a video link-up soon after the explosion.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Britain sees tenth case of SARS-linked coronavirus

NEXT ARTICLE
Barack Obama 'to arrive in Jerusalem on March 20'

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit