On March 19, a methane explosion ripped through the Ulyanovskaya mine in Novokuznetsk, the largest coal-producing center in the Kemerovo Region, after new English safety equipment had been installed in the pit.
"Automatic equipment showing the methane levels in the mine was deliberately deactivated so that the indicators displayed a lower methane level, but did not switch off the mine's electricity," Konstantin Pulikovsky said.
He said managers at all levels had been involved in the crime. "There are even grounds to suspect those who were killed in the mine.
There were 203 people underground at the time of the explosion, which besides miners took the lives of about 20 mine managers and engineers. A total of 93 miners were rescued, while two are still missing, in Russia's worst accident in 75 years.
