3 escape burning Russia mine, 18 still missing

Moscow, Sept 9: Three miners walked out of a burning Russian gold mine today after more than two days trapped underground, local media reported, but 18 others were still missing.

The three escaped without the help of rescuers. They said when they reached the surface they knew of five more men who were alive inside the mine, Itar-Tass news agency quoted the Emergency Services Ministry as saying.

Rescuers, struggling against smoke and high temperatures from the fire that broke out on Thursday morning, had earlier located the bodies of 12 miners.

Hope had been dwindling of finding any survivors.

Yesterday, distraught relatives waited outside the mine for news. ''My brother is down there,'' mine worker Nikolai Bronnikov told Rossiya television, then turned away from the camera in tears.

The Darasun mine, in the remote Chita region of Eastern Siberia near the Chinese border, is owned by London-listed Highland Gold Mining.

Thirty-three men were trapped when welding work sparked the fire deep underground. A spokesman for Russia's Emergencies Ministry said the fire had been localised but not put out in the central shaft of the mine.

The Emergencies Ministry said on Saturday 11 bodies had been brought to the surface, with one other found but still underground, local agencies reported.

When the fire broke out, the miners were carrying breathing devices designed to last for several hours. Air was being pumped into the shaft to improve the chances of survival.

SAFETY CHECKS

Russia's state environmental watchdog said it would be carrying out an urgent investigation into alleged safety violations by Highland Gold at Darasun and other mines it operates.

That investigation was later broadened to cover some mines operated by Polyus Gold -- Russia's biggest gold miner -- and several coal mining companies.

Highland Gold shares plunged 11 percent on Friday on the London Stock Exchange to 1.53 pounds, following losses of 4.5 percent the day before.

The Darasun mine is the smaller of Highland Gold's two operational gold mines in Russia. The complex produced 11,761 ounces of gold in the first half of this year, around 13 percent of the company's total production.

Highland Gold is one-fifth owned by Canada's Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold miner. Fleming Family&Partners and its affiliates hold 19.5 percent and the company's Anglo-Russian management team a further 12.5 percent.

Tucked in the desolate foothills of Chita, the Darasun mine is Russia's oldest hard-rock gold deposit with proven reserves of 31 tonnes and estimated resources of 96 tonnes.

REUTERS