38 dead in Siberian coal mine explosion

A methane explosion killed 38 people in a Siberian coal mine Thursday, weeks after 110 miners died in a blast at a nearby mine operated by the same company.

Officials said rescue workers had halted their search, believing there were no more survivors in the Yubileynaya pit near Novokuznetsk, 1,850 miles east of Moscow. When the methane ignited, 217 people were below ground, but 179 escaped.

Relatives scanned a list of the dead on a wall at the mine.

“They will start bringing the bodies to the surface now,” said a woman with tears welling in her eyes. “They say they have identified everyone.”

Russia’s industrial safety watchdog said its inspectors had twice applied to have the mine closed for safety violations, including some in the shaft where the blast occurred, but were overruled by local courts.

The Yubileynaya mine, which employs about 1,000 people, is 25 miles from the Ulyanovskaya pit where 110 people died in March.

Both mines are operated by Yuzhkuzbassugol, which is 50% owned by its management and 50% by steelmaker Evraz Group. Yuzhkuzbassugol declined to comment on the blast.