As a result of an emergency at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine in the Belovsky urban district of the Kemerovo region, according to the latest data, 11 people died.

Rescuers managed to evacuate 239 miners, and several dozen more people remain in the mine.

Rescue work has been suspended due to the threat of an explosion.

On the morning of November 25, the Siberian Department of Rostekhnadzor received a message about smoke in the ventilation shaft at the mine.

“At 09:08 (05:08 Moscow time) they called and said that there was smoke.

After 15 minutes, it was clarified that there was an explosion in ventilation drift No. 823, and that people were leaving the mine to the surface, "the department's duty officer told TASS.

Mine rescuers and doctors went to the scene.

The regional prosecutor's office confirmed the fact of smoke pollution, and also said that "the workers of the enterprise are being brought to the surface."

The department announced the start of an inspection on the fact of the incident.

Deputy Prosecutor of the Kemerovo Region - Kuzbass Anatoly Zakusilov, Prosecutor Belova Alexander Tsarev and acting

Ilya Podaruev, Kemerovo interdistrict prosecutor for overseeing the implementation of laws in the coal mining industry. 

An operational headquarters was created on the spot, it was headed by the governor Sergei Tsivilev.

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According to the Ministry of Emergencies, smoke occurred at a depth of 250 m. In turn, a TASS source in the emergency services said that the cause was the ignition of coal dust in the ventilation shaft.

“After that, the smoke spread through the ventilation throughout the mine.

There was no explosion, there is no damage in the mine, ”he said.

A source of the agency clarified that after the fire in the mine there was a very strong smoke - in such a case, according to him, the miners have self-rescuers, the work of which is designed for three hours.

Initially, the Kuzbass Disaster Medicine Center reported 40 victims, stressing that their number could increase.

“As the fire took place in the ventilation tunnel, the smoke instantly spread.

It is possible that some of the miners did not manage to use the self-rescuers, ”the center explained.

According to the administration of the Kuzbass government, there were 285 people in the mine. 

Acting Head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Chupriyan held an emergency meeting of the working group of the Government Commission on the incident at the Listvyazhnaya mine.

The department said that 173 people and 39 pieces of equipment are working at the site.

Psychologists of the department work with relatives of the victims.

“There are 19 branches, which go along all the workings to the distant roadway, in which, according to our assumptions, there are people.

All the forces and means that are in the region have been deployed, ”said Governor Sergei Tsivilev.

Rescue work at the mine was later suspended due to the threat of an explosion.

According to the governor, the concentration of methane in the mine exceeds 6%, and that of carbon monoxide is more than 0.25%.

Work will resume as soon as the gas concentration drops to a safe level, the regional government said.

“239 people were brought to the surface.

46 people remain in the mine, 11 people died as of 18:00.

49 victims turned to hospitals, 11 people receive outpatient treatment, 38 people were hospitalized, ”the press service said.

Oksana Chernikova, head physician of the Kuzbass Clinical Center for the Protection of Miners' Health, said that all the victims who were hospitalized after the accident at the mine are in stable condition.

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Art.

217 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities, resulting in the death of a person by negligence). 

"According to preliminary data, a number of workers suffered from smoke poisoning, the number of victims is being specified," the department noted.

The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, promised that the investigation would thoroughly sort out the causes of the emergency and establish "the reasons and all the perpetrators, whose actions or inaction resulted in dire consequences."

The press service of the regional government also promised to provide assistance to the relatives of the victims and injured.

“All assistance programs have already been prepared.

They will be announced to relatives after all the miners are found, ”the message says.

Also on russian.rt.com 11 people became victims of the state of emergency at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Kuzbass

In addition, the Listvyazhnaya mine will pay the relatives of the victims 2 million rubles each, in addition to the payments stipulated by the law. 

“The victims will also receive additional payments, the amount will be determined depending on the severity,” the press service of the holding company SDS, which owns the mine, said.

Against the background of the incident, the Prosecutor General of Russia Igor Krasnov ordered to conduct inspections of the implementation of legislation on labor protection and industrial safety at all mines of the Kemerovo Region.

In connection with the accident, Sergei Tsivilev declared November 26, 27 and 28 as days of mourning in the region.

"The government of Kuzbass will do everything possible, we will provide all the necessary assistance to the families of those killed and injured," said the head of the region.

President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the killed miners. 

“The President deeply condolences to the families of those miners who died, about whom it is already clear that they died.

And, of course, we hope that we will be able to save those who are down there, underground, ”said the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov.

He added that Putin had already talked on the phone with the acting head of the RF Ministry of Emergencies, who, on the instructions of the president, flew to Kemerovo with the head of Rostekhnadzor to organize the rescue work on the spot.

Peskov noted that Putin gave the necessary instructions to organize all the necessary assistance to the victims and "to make the maximum possible efforts to continue the rescue operation."