RUSSIA:Dozens of miners perished in a gas explosion deep underground in a Siberian mine yesterday, the latest in a long list of similar tragedies to plague the Russian industry in recent years.
Last night 14 separate emergency teams were trying to reach survivors as the death toll continued to mount by the hour in a mine opened in honour of Russia's president Vladimir Putin.
The huge explosion destroyed part of the underground tunnel network, further complicating the rescue efforts.
The mine in Ulyanovskaya, which became operational less than five years ago, had modern equipment, the operators insisted last night. It was inaugurated on Mr Putin's 50th birthday - October 7th, 2002. Last night the president dispatched his emergency services minister to oversee operations at the scene.
Although more than 80 miners had been brought to safety last night, there were still more unaccounted for and at least 78 confirmed deaths from more than 200 men who were 270 metres underground at the time. Five survivors were being treated in hospital.
Methane was blamed for causing the explosion, which occurred in one of the largest coal reserves in the world, according to Russian's emergency services department. The fully mechanised mine produces about three million tonnes of coal per year.
In the past decade, hundreds of miners have died in at least 10 similar incidents in the country.
Already this year there have been two fatal incidents, both caused when mine shafts collapsed.
Russian news bulletins emphasised the efforts of emergency services at the site to reach trapped survivors. On the surface there was little visible sign of what occurred, apart from the cluster of ambulances ferrying the dead and injured from the minehead, where large heaps of coal are still covered in winter snow.
Last night it was feared that the final death toll from the latest incident would rise even further. It has already surpassed that of the 45 miners who died in another gas explosion just under three years ago.
The independent miners' union in Russia has called for closer controls to prevent the accumulation of methane underground. It also urged changes to the way miners are paid to encourage better safety systems.
Alexander Sergeev of the NPGR union said that miners' current pay structure is made up of a low basic wage topped up by supplements based on the amount of coal mined.
The mine belongs to the largest mining group in the country, Yuzhkuzbassugol, which is in turn 50 per cent owned by the steel group Evraz in which Chelsea owner and oligarch Roman Abramovich controls a 41 per cent stake.
"Just prior to the explosion, all our equipment was recording normal levels of methane, but then it increased sharply," said a spokesman for the operators last night.
Officials from the Russian public prosecutor's office were also at the scene to investigate whether a criminal investigation was warranted.