Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 20, 2007

Search for Missing Siberian Miners Continues
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=16B92AA:A6F02AD83191E16092006F0DA01224089574F7DCC14957C0 Methane gas
explosion ripped through  Ulyanovskaya mine in Central Siberia 
killing at least 106 people Thirteen people are reported still missing
after Monday's gas explosion at a coal mine in Central Siberia that
killed at least 106 people. Rescuers are scouring the site for a
second day, in the hopes of finding still more survivors. VOA's Lisa
McAdams in Moscow reports.







A rescuers' bus passes a sign, reading: "Danger Zone," in the vicinity
of the Ulyanovskaya in the Kemerovo region, some 3,000 kms (1,864
miles) east of Moscow, 20 Mar 2007Fourteen teams of specialist
emergency workers have fanned out across the mine to search for signs
of life, one day after a methane gas explosion ripped through the
Ulyanovskaya mine in the Siberian region, Kemerovo.

Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu is overseeing
rescue operations at the site. He says work is being hampered by
numerous complications, including bad ventilation.

Shoigu says authorities have launched an investigation into the
accident and that a criminal case has also been opened. At present,
investigators looking for the cause of the blast are centering on
possible violations of mining work rules.

The blast cost the company all but one of its senior managers. It
serves as a grim reminder of the dilapidated state of Russia's mining
industry.

Regional authorities have declared three days of mourning, later this
week.


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