The spokesman in the Kemerovo Region, where the Kuznetsk Coal Basin (Kuzbas) is located, said four mine workers were underground at Pervomayskaya mine in Berezovsky when a methane leak is thought to have caused an explosion. Another miner managed to escape to the surface.
The spokesman said rescuers were removing debris to locate the missing miner.
Russian mines have been hit by a series of fatal accidents in recent years attributed by many to poor maintenance due to the coal industry's chronic under funding.
Governor Aman Tuleyev, who is in charge of the emergency headquarters leading the rescue effort, ordered coal companies and mine owners to check safety conditions at all the region's mines, the administration press service said.
