(Photos: Xinhua/Reuters) MOSCOW
, Oct. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 13 miners were killed and 12 more are still missing in a mine methane blast in Russia's western Siberian region on Thursday. At least 23 were also injured in the blast that ripped through the Listvyanino mine in the town of Belov in the Kemerovo region early Thursday morning, Sergei Cheremnov
, spokesman for the regional administration
, told Interfax news agency. There were 103 miners
, instead of the initial figure of 240
, working underground at the time of the explosion
, Itar-Tass news agency quoted the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry as saying. The ministry said 60 miners were rescued to the surface
, but Cheremnov put the number at 30. Nine rescue teams are working on the scene and a special committee has been set up to investigate the cause of the incident. The roof of the damaged coal mine caved in and the dense smoke impeded the rescue efforts
, said Itar-Tass. An explosion in a coal mine in the Kemerovo region killed 45 people in April and 11 others suffered methane poisoning when fireengulfed another colliery in the region in June. EnditemRelated Topics Articles：
