The body of a fifth miner among 23 missing and presumed dead in May's deadly accident at a southwestern Siberian coalmine has been recovered, a spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee said on Sunday.
Earlier on Sunday, four dead bodies were recovered from the mine.
Raspadskaya, one of Russia's largest coalmines located in the town of Mezhdurechensk in Siberia's Kemerovo region, was hit by a methane blast late on May 8. Four hours later, when rescuers entered the mine, another blast followed.
The death toll previously stood at 68, with 23 miners registered as missing. Now the official death toll stands at 73.
Rescue efforts were halted shortly after the second blast amid fears that more explosions may occur. Authorities started pumping water out of the mine only in mid-August.
Rescuers say they already pumped out more than two million of cubic meters of water and removed some 170 metric tons of rubble.
Investigators say the deadly blasts were caused by a breach of safety regulations.
KEMEROVO, October 3 (RIA Novosti)
