A gas leak in a Siberian coal mine killed at least 50 people on Thursday, Russian news agencies said, including six rescuers who were sent down to try to bring out dozens of men in what was one of Russia’s worst mining disasters since Soviet times. The regional Investigative Committee said three people, including the director of the Listvyazhnaya mine and his deputy, had been arrested on suspicion of violating industrial safety rules.
It said miners had suffocated when a ventilation shaft became filled with gas. State television said prosecutors believed there had been a methane explosion.
The dead comprised 11 miners already confirmed killed, 35 who had been reported missing, and the six rescue workers. Dozens of people were treated in hospital, at least some of them for smoke inhalation. Four were in critical condition. The coal-producing region of Kemerovo, roughly 3,500km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow, has suffered fatal mining accidents for years.
In 2007, the region was the site of the worst mining accident since the collapse of the Soviet Union when an explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine claimed the lives of more than 100 people. In 2010, explosions at the region’s Raspadskaya mine killed more than 90 people.
Source: Reuters
In other news – Sipho ‘Psyfo’ Ngwenya and wife celebrate wedding anniversary
Music producer and former actor Sipho “Psyfo” Ngwenya and his wife Aamirah recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary, and a loved-up Sipho penned a heartfelt message for his wifey on Instagram.
The couple tied the knot after two years of dating. It was a small and intimate family wedding on a hill. Aamirah excitedly took to Instagram to share her news at the time. Learn more
