Blast in Siberia mine: 21 killed

Moscow, Mar 19 (UNI) A methane explosion in a mine, where 186 people were working, killed 21 people in West Siberia today.

''The bodies of 21 miners have been discovered by 4 pm (local time),'' RIA Novosti news agency reported quoting Russian Emergency Situations Ministry.

The Ministry said 68 miners, including five injured, had been rescued from the Ulyanovskaya mine in Novokuznetsk, the largest coal-producing centre in the Kemerovo Region.

The blast ripped through the mine, when 186 people were working there. Rescuers are working at the site.

Earlier, reports said Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu would soon fly to Novokuznetsk on President Vladimir Putin's order.

Explosions are not uncommon in Russia's crumbling coal mining industry. But the Ulyanovksaya mine was only opened in 2002. It produces 3 million metric tonnes of coal annually and its reserves total 210 million metric tonnes.

UNI