Rescue operations at a west Siberian coal mine hit by two explosions killed at least 66 people and injured many more, have been suspended due to the threat of further explosions, an emergencies official said on Thursday.
Twenty-four people are still missing following the blasts, which hit the Raspadskaya coalmine near the town of Mezhdurechensk in Kemerovo Region over the weekend.
"Search work has been suspended. Our goal is to extinguish fires and lower gas concentration levels, and only then can we send people in," said Pavel Plat, the chief military expert of the Emergency Situations Ministry.
He said several fires have been registered at the mine, some of them "quite large."
"Unfortunately, the situation has worsened. Gas concentrations have increased in some areas," he said.
He said it was unclear when rescue efforts would resume.
"We are doing everything we can to find the people whose fate remains unknown," Plat said.
More than 100 people were injured in the blasts, which occurred in the space of four hours late on Saturday and early on Sunday.
MEZHDURECHENSK, May 13 (RIA Novosti)
