MOSCOW — Russian officials said today the search for 24 workers missing after a coal mine explosion won't resume for a week, apparently eliminating hopes of finding them alive.

Rescue operations at the Raspadskaya mine in western Siberia were suspended Thursday because of heavy concentrations of explosive methane and fires in the tunnels. Today, Emergencies Ministry official Pavel Plat said the methane couldn't be reduced to safe levels for at least a week.

The confirmed death toll stands at 66 from the pair of explosions that rocked Russia's largest underground coal mine, about 1,800 miles east of Moscow, over the weekend. That includes 17 rescuers who were sent into the mine after the first explosion and were caught in the second blast, which was so enormous that it severely damaged buildings on the surface.

There have been no reports of contact established with any of the 24 miners still missing, who were believed to be about 1,450 feet underground.

Both blasts were blamed on methane, but it's not clear what set them off.