NOVOKUZNETSK (Siberia) – Rescuers found early on Thursday the body of a miner who was missing following a flood at a coal mine in southwestern Siberia’s Kemerovo Region, while the fate of the other three missing workers remains unknown local emergencies official said.
He said the identification of the body will be carried out as soon as it is brought back to the surface.
Some 143 miners were working underground at the Osinnikovskaya coal mine when flooding occurred late on Tuesday, caused by construction work at the site, according to local administration.
A total of 139 miners were rescued from the mine, which belongs to EvrazHolding.
The work at the mine has been suspended, while rescuers continue to pump water from the flooded sections.
Kemerovo Region Governor Aman Tuleyev is leading the effort to deal with the consequences of the accident.
Kemerovo is part of Russia’s major coal-producing Kuzbass region.
Mine safety conditions in Russia have often been a cause for concern. In 2010, a total of 91 workers died in twin methane gas explosions at a mine owned by the Raspadskaya company in the Kemerovo Region.
Most recently, a gas blast at the Vorkutinskaya coal mine in Russia’s northern republic of Komi in February 2013 killed 18 miners.