Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expects a West Siberian coal mine where up to 90 people died in two explosions in May to be fully operational again soon.
The Raspadskaya coalmine in the town of Mezhdurechensk was severely affected by two explosions that hit the mine on the night of May 8-9. Sixty-seven bodies have been recovered from the mine, with another 23 missing and presumed dead.
The accident is thought to have been caused by poor observation of safety regulations.
"I very much expect that the coal mine to be restored in the shortest time and will fully resume its work on schedule," Putin said.
The Kemerovo region's governor, Aman Tuleyev, told Putin the coal mine could resume operations next month.
"The more we drag out the restoration of the coal mine, the more comfortable people become. Dependency develops - it's possible to not work and get 40,000 rubles a month [about $1,300]," Tuleyev said during a video conference with Moscow.
Putin urged the mine's authorities to have an "informal approach to solving the social issues" concerning the payments to the relatives of the deceased miners.
NOVO-OGAREVO/NOVOKUZNETSK, August 11 (RIA Novosti)
