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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Russian gold mine fire kills 12 | Russian gold mine fire kills 12 |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Several miners remain trapped following a fire in a gold mine in Russia that has killed at least 12 colleagues. | |
| The blaze broke out between 85m and 130m (230-430ft) below ground in the Darasun mine in Chita in Siberia. | |
| Three men managed to escape the mine early on Saturday, two days after the fire started. They said at least five others were still alive in the mine. | |
| Rescue work has been hampered by smoke, and 15 miners saved from the blaze were treated for smoke inhalation. | |
| Those of us who could... got out. The remaining are still down there. My brother's there. I can't say any more Nikolai BronnikovRussian miner | Those of us who could... got out. The remaining are still down there. My brother's there. I can't say any more Nikolai BronnikovRussian miner |
| Specialist teams arrived on Saturday at the Darasun mine, which is about 4,700km (2,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russian emergency officials said. | |
| Hope of survivors | Hope of survivors |
| The cause of the fire is not yet clear, though one report said it was set off by welding work. | |
| Of the 64 miners underground when the fire took hold on Thursday, 31 crawled out within hours. | |
| The company which owns the mine, Highland Gold Mining, said the bodies of 12 miners had been recovered. | The company which owns the mine, Highland Gold Mining, said the bodies of 12 miners had been recovered. |
| After the further three who escaped on Saturday, 18 remain unaccounted for. | |
| "The main thing today and now is to save the people and finish off this rescue operation," said Dmitry Yakushkin, the company's communication director. | "The main thing today and now is to save the people and finish off this rescue operation," said Dmitry Yakushkin, the company's communication director. |
| A spokesman for Russia's emergencies ministry said there was still hope of finding survivors. | A spokesman for Russia's emergencies ministry said there was still hope of finding survivors. |
| The trapped miners have breathing devices that should help them survive for several hours, Russian media reported. | The trapped miners have breathing devices that should help them survive for several hours, Russian media reported. |
| One miner described what happened when the blaze broke out. | One miner described what happened when the blaze broke out. |
| "It got smoky. Those of us who could - there was five of us - got out. The others are back in the mine," Nikolai Bronnikov told Russian TV. | "It got smoky. Those of us who could - there was five of us - got out. The others are back in the mine," Nikolai Bronnikov told Russian TV. |
| "Other guys used emergency exits and got to the surface. The remaining are still down there. My brother's there. I can't say any more." | "Other guys used emergency exits and got to the surface. The remaining are still down there. My brother's there. I can't say any more." |
| Highland Gold Mining, which is registered in Jersey, saw its shares fall more than 7% during trading on the London Stock Exchange on Friday morning. | Highland Gold Mining, which is registered in Jersey, saw its shares fall more than 7% during trading on the London Stock Exchange on Friday morning. |
| Russia's gold mines have a better safety record than the coal-mining industry, where many accidents have happened since the early 1990s. | Russia's gold mines have a better safety record than the coal-mining industry, where many accidents have happened since the early 1990s. |