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Russian coal mine: Death toll soars to 52 after accident - reports Russian coal mine: Dozens killed in Siberia accident
(about 5 hours later)
The coal mine is in Siberia, some 3,500km (2,175 miles) east of Moscow The build-up of gas in the mine meant that several rescuers died in the accident
At least 52 people are reported to have died in Russia's worst mining disaster in a decade. Fifty-one people have been killed in Russia's worst mining disaster in a decade, prompting three days of mourning in Siberia's Kemerovo region.
The incident started when coal dust in a ventilation shaft caught fire on Thursday, filling the Siberian mine with smoke and killing 11. Among the dead were five rescue workers, although a sixth was found alive and taken to hospital in a serious condition.
By nightfall, a failed operation to reach dozens of missing miners had turned to tragedy after several rescuers reportedly suffocated. The blast happened at the Listvyazhnaya mine when coal dust caught fire in a ventilation shaft on Thursday.
An emergency services source told one news agency "no one is left alive". Rescuers suffocated as they tried to reach dozens of missing miners.
The majority of the 285 people in the the Listvyazhnaya mine, in the Kemerovo region some 3,500km (2,175 miles) east of Moscow, escaped in the immediate aftermath of the incident, at around 08:35 local time (01:35 GMT) on Thursday. At the time of the accident early on Thursday there were 287 people in the mine, some 3,500km (2,175 miles) east of Moscow.
Officials said 49 had been taken to hospital with injuries. Some of them have smoke poisoning, and four are said to be in a critical condition. Many managed to get out and 49 people were taken to hospital, some of them suffering from smoke inhalation.
Dozens of miners were unable to escape after the initial incident, but rescue operations had to be suspended after dangerously high levels of methane were detected in the mine, prompting fears of possible explosions. But dozens were trapped and rescue operations had to be suspended because of high concentrations of methane.
One of the rescue teams then failed to emerge from the mine. The bodies of three rescuers were later found, bringing the official death toll to 14. Officials said a methane gas explosion had filled the mine with smoke and the victims had died because of a lack of oxygen and high concentration of poisonous gas.
Then late on Thursday several sources told Russian media agencies that no further survivors were expected to be found and the death toll had risen to more than 50, including six rescuers in total. At the mine
Three people, including the mine director, have been arrested over alleged safety failings, Reuters news agency reports. By Petr Kozlov, BBC Russian
This is not the first accident at the mine, according to local media, with a methane gas explosion killing 13 in 2004. More widely, accidents in Russian mines are not uncommon. Relatives sobbed outside the mine office on Friday.
In 2016, authorities assessed the safety of the country's 58 coal mines and declared 34% of them potentially unsafe. The list did not include the Listvyazhnaya mine at the time, Russian reports say. One man who said his grandson had died was prevented from going in and argued bitterly with a guard.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the loss of life as "a great tragedy". A woman came out carrying a black plastic bag containing her dead son's clothes and boots: "My boy is under the ground now, there is nothing more to say."
Relatives comforted each other at the Listvyazhnaya mine entrance
Relatives said warnings about growing levels of methane gas in the mine had gone unheeded. They said there had been a fire at the mine only 10 days earlier and miners had been frustrated that more was not done to improve safety.
Amid all the sadness there was one moment of relief. As hope faded for the lives of the missing, the rescuers managed to find one man alive.
The survivor from the rescue team was named as Alexander Zakovryashin and Russian Emergencies Minister Alexander Chupriyan said it was a "miracle carried out by our people".
The mine director, his deputy and the disaster area supervisor were arrested over alleged safety failings, according to Russian news agencies.
Russian mine accidents are not uncommon and this is not the first accident at Listvyazhnaya. In 2004, a methane gas explosion left 13 people dead.
In 2016, authorities assessed the safety of the country's 58 coal mines and declared 34% of them potentially unsafe. The list did not include the Listvyazhnaya mine at the time, reports say.
President Vladimir Putin described the loss of life as "a great tragedy".