Blast kills 16 in Russian mine

An explosion at a Russian coal mine has killed at least 16 people. 10 miners are still missing. It is understood that the blast was caused by methane igniting. Four people, underground at the time of the blast, were taken to a local hospital with light injuries. A team of 30 miners and experts is on its way to the Yesaulskaya mine in the Kemerovo region of Siberia to investigate smoke that is reported to still be coming out of the mine. They aim to stop any fire from spreading.

The search for the ten missing miners is still underway. The facility has been in operation for twenty years. Accidents are common in Russia’s under-funded mining industry. Last year a blast in a facility in the same region killed 45 people.

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