Listvyazhnaya Mine Accident Leaves 52 People Killed - Russian Emergency Services

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2021) Fifty-two people, including six mine rescuers, were killed in an accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Russia's Kemerovo Region, a spokesman for the emergency services told Sputnik on Thursday.

"According to preliminary data, 52 people died, including six rescuers," he said.

Earlier it was reported about 11 miners had died, as well as three rescuers.

The preliminary established cause of the accident is a methane blast, according to Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Dmitry Demeshin.

"Most likely, it was a methane explosion caused by some kind of spark... (The blast) injured people and they could not get out," he told reporters, adding that experts from Russia's Investigative Committee are currently working on the incident.

According to the Investigative Committee, in line with the ongoing criminal probe, three members of the mine's administration, including its director, his first deputy and a chief of the mine's section, have been arrested on charges of "the violation of the requirements of industrial safety of hazardous production facilities, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence."

The smoke was detected at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Kemerovo around 01:30 GMT on Thursday. The coal mine is located in a rural suburb of the city of Belovo. The mine belongs to the SDS-Ugol Holding Company, one of the top three coal producers in Russia.