Rescue workers are starting building a third water supply pipe at a Siberian coalmine where a deadly explosion killed at least 66 people last weekend, the press office of the regional emergencies department said on Sunday.
The third water supply pipe is intended to accelerate the flooding of the coal-incineration areas inside the Raspadskaya coalmine near Mezhdurechensk in western Siberia, which was hit by two explosions on May 8-9, the press office said.
The second, more powerful blast killed a number of rescuers and methane gas levels forced the suspension of search operations on Thursday with 24 people still missing underground.
The water is being pumped into the mine to squeeze methane gas from it and continue the rescue effort, which had already been going on for the eighth day, the press office said.
Safety regulations are often poorly enforced in Russia and fatal accidents, particularly involving fires, are all too common.
Media reports said the Raspadskaya mine, Russia's largest underground coalmine, was among the most technologically advanced in the world, with a reported $1 billion invested in equipment over the past five years.
However, miners and their families protested in Mezhdurechensk on Friday, criticizing the media for painting too rosy a picture of work at the mine and claiming that safety systems were routinely bypassed to increase production.
KEMEROVO, May 16 (RIA Novosti)
