Russian blast claims 51 lives, all bodies recovered
Russian officials have recovered the bodies of 51 people who died at a Russian coal mine following a gas explosion two weeks ago.
The governor of Kemerovo Oblast, Sergei Tsvilyov, in a statement Monday, said that Civil defence forces brought the last body from the “Listvyazhnaya” shaft to the surface in western Siberia.
The recovery operation is now over, Tsvilyov said.
One injured person is still being treated in hospital.
After a methane gas explosion in late November, 46 miners died at the coal mine, along with five emergency workers who had been trying to rescue them.
Rescue work was however hampered by the threat of new explosions.
It was the worst mining accident in Russia in more than a decade. More than 100 people were injured in the explosion.
Five arrest warrants have been issued for members of the mine management and supervisory authorities on suspicion of violating safety regulations at the mine in the town of Belovo, some 3,000 kilometres east of Moscow.
Work in the mining industry releases methane, a highly flammable gas that can accumulate in the shafts underground if ventilation is poor.
In response to the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized “greed for profit” in the mining industry, which exposed people to deadly risk, and called for reforms. (dpa/NAN)
