Russia mine blast kills 5, injures 14
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-28 13:13

At least five miners were killed and 14 injured in a blast in a coal mine in Russia's Siberia, a government spokeswoman said on Thursday.

"At 9.45 a.m. (0145 GMT) we received the signal for a methane blast. At the time, a 45-strong repair team was working in that part of the mine. Five were killed and 14 injured," said a spokeswoman for the government of Siberia's Kemerovo region.

"The fate of others underground is unknown."

The Emergencies Ministry in Moscow said 240 people were underground at the time of the explosion.

Itar-Tass news agency reported that rescue workers had managed to evacuate five wounded miners to the surface at the Kemerovo region's "Listvyazhnaya" mine, near Russia's border with Mongolia.

A blast in the Kemerovo region in April killed 45 miners, and a flooded mineshaft last October trapped 11 miners underground for a week in a mine near Ukraine.

Close

Today's Top News     Top World News
Making of anti-trust law is speeded up         One-China policy key to talks with Taipei         Arafat collapses as his health worsens         Reuters: Bush leads Kerry by one point         Police: "Pessimistic" man set off bus blast         IOC warns against Olympic venue delays	Russia mine blast kills 5, injures 14       Arafat collapses as his health worsens       Bush, Kerry slug it out over missing Iraqi explosives       World oil prices plummet       Tamil Tigers have not given up right to secede: negotiator       Signs point to imminent showdown in Iraq