By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A methane explosion in a coal mine in western Siberia Thursday morning killed 35 miners while three miners are still missing, a Russian emergencies ministry spokesperson said.
The methane explosion at the Yubileinaya coalmine in the Kemerovo region, Russia's largest coal producing area, occurred at 7.40 a.m. Moscow time (3.40 a.m. GMT), when 217 miners were working underground.
Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said rescue teams had flown to Kemerovo from neighbouring regions to help 150 rescuers currently working at the scene and promised aid from Moscow. "The federal centre will do everything that is required."
Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleyev, who is leading a commission investigating the cause of the accident, declared May 26 a day of mourning.