“The forces and means of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are ready for long-term work.

We will fight for the mine's survivability, ”RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

Chupriyan stated that rescuers should show maximum concentration of efforts to eliminate the consequences of the accident.

Earlier, Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Dmitry Demeshin said that the preliminary cause of the emergency at the Listvyazhnaya mine is considered to be a methane explosion.

The accident killed 11 miners.

Later, the bodies of three mine rescuers were found who had disappeared during the rescue operations.