Siberia mine blast kills 14, miners trapped

MOSCOW, May 24 (Reuters) At least 14 miners were killed and about 40 were trapped underground after a methane blast ripped through a Siberian coal mine today, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said.

''The latest information is that 14 people have died. Up to 45 people could have been at the epicentre of the blast,'' said a spokeswoman for the ministry.

The blast happened at the Yubileynaya mine in Siberia's Kemorovo region, about 40 km (25 miles) from the Ulyanovskaya pit where 110 people were killed in March in Russia's worst mining accident since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

A spokesman for the regional administration told Reuters that 217 workers and engineers had been underground at the Yubileynaya mine when the blast took place at 7:40 (0910 IST).

''One hundred and eighty people have been brought out,'' said the spokesman. ''Of these, five have life-threatening injuries.

The fate of the other miners is unknown.'' The accident in March triggered a massive government inquiry into safety in Russia's mining industry, with initial conclusions pointing to poor safety standards. The latest blast is likely to bring the sector under renewed scrutiny.

''Rescue services have gone to the scene of the accident. A regional emergency headquarters has been set up. The governor has gone to the scene,'' the spokesman for the regional administration told Reuters.

''According to the (mining) company's information, there were 194 workers and 23 engineering inspectors underground (at the time of the explosion),'' he said.

Both the Yubileynaya and Ulyanovskaya mines are owned by Yuzhkuzbassugol, a company that is owned 50 per cent by its management, which has operational control, and 50 per cent by Evraz Group, Russia's top steelmaker by domestic volume.

REUTERS GP KP1253