4 Killed, 2 Dozen Missing in Coal Mine

A methane gas explosion at a coal mine in the Arctic killed at least four people, injured five and trapped about two dozen others. Rescue workers’ hopes of finding the remaining miners alive were slim, the Interfax news agency quoted local officials in the Vorkuta region as saying. The blast caused the shaft where the miners were working to collapse and set off a fire that raged throughout the day. Emergency crews were having trouble putting out the blaze and navigating the debris to reach those trapped. The explosion occurred during the overnight shift, when 49 miners were inside the Tsentralnaya mine at a depth of nearly 3,000 feet, the Emergency Situations Ministry reported. It said 22 miners, five of them injured, managed to reach the surface and drag out the body of one dead colleague. The bodies of three others were recovered later, mine officials said.