MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - Nine people were killed in a methane explosion at a mine in West Siberia, Russia's emergencies ministry said Monday.
According to the ministry's data, 55 of the 186 people trapped at the time of the explosion have been evacuated from the Ulyanovskaya mine in Novokuznetsk, the largest coal producing center in the Kemerovo Region.
The accident occurred at 11:16 a.m. Moscow time (8:16 a.m. GMT).
Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu will soon fly to Novokuznetsk on President Vladimir Putin's order.
Opened in 2002, the Ulyanovksaya mine produces 3 million metric tons of coal annually and its reserves total 210 million metric tons.
