Rescuers search for miners
NOVOKUZNETSK, Russia — Flooded caverns and flammable gas hampered the search Wednesday for two workers missing after an explosion at a Siberian coal mine, as Russia held a day of mourning for the 108 miners killed in the country's worst mining disaster in more than a decade.
Flags flew at half-staff, church services were held nationwide and TV stations took entertainment programs off the air Wednesday to mourn the victims of the mining disaster, as well as for two other tragedies — a nursing home fire that left 63 dead and a weekend plane crash that killed six.
President Vladimir Putin led televised minutes of silence with his Cabinet, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church broadcast condolences and lawmakers called for a full investigation of the disasters.
In the Kuzbass regional city of Novokuznetsk, about 1,850 miles east of Moscow, relatives of those killed in the Ulyanovskaya mine lined up to identify the victims, some nearly burned beyond recognition.
About 200 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred early Monday at a depth of about 885 feet. About 93 made it to the surface safely. Regional officials said a British employee of the British-German mining consultancy IMC was among the dead.
Mine brigade leader Vladimir Gunko said just six of the 11 members of his brigade survived the blast.
"The explosion happened. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't breathe. I had sand in my helmet and I pressed it against my mouth. I began shouting 'Guys! Guys!' but no one answered. I couldn't see anything, literally no more than 10 centimeters out. Then I began to search with my feet, maybe to step on somebody, but I couldn't find anyone," Gunko told NTV television. "You wouldn't see anything, like even in a horror movie."
Water, gas and structural damage were slowing the search for two men still missing. Divers sent underground covered 165 feet but were unable to go further because their path was blocked by rubble, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
Shoigu also cautioned that it would be impossible to quickly pinpoint the precise cause of the blast, saying it would take at least two weeks to collect data.
