Coal mine fire in Russia's Siberia kills 14, dozens missing

In this Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021 photo, rescuers prepare to work at a fire scene at a coal mine near the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia,. Russian authorities say a fire at a coal mine in Siberia has killed nine people and injured 44 others. Dozens of others are still trapped. A Russian news agency says the blaze took place in the Kemerovo region in southwestern Siberia. (Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations photo via AP)

Rescuers enter a checkpoint of the Listvyazhnaya coal mine out of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. A fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia killed 11 people and injured more than 40 others on Thursday, with dozens of others still trapped, authorities said. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

Rescuers walk at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine out of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. A fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia killed 11 people and injured more than 40 others on Thursday, with dozens of others still trapped, authorities said. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

Ambulances and fire trucks are parked near the Listvyazhnaya coal mine out of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. A fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia killed 11 people and injured more than 40 others on Thursday, with dozens of others still trapped, authorities said. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

In this photo provided by the Governor of Kemerovo Region Press Office, rescuers attend a meeting, after the accident at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine about 100 km (62 mies) of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. At least 14 people have died in a fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia that also has left 35 others trapped and feared dead. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

In this photo provided by the Governor of Kemerovo Region Press Office, Kemerovo Governor Sergei Tsivilyov, left, visits a wounded miner after the accident at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine at the Kuzbass Clinical Center for the Protection of Miners' Health in Leninsk-Kuznetsky about 100 km (62 mies) of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. At least 14 people have died in a fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia that also has left 35 others trapped and feared dead. Nearly 50 other miners were injured. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

In this photo provided by the Governor of Kemerovo Region Press Office, rescuers and officials attend a meeting, after the accident at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine about 100 km (62 mies) of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. At least 14 people have died in a fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia that also has left 35 others trapped and feared dead. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

In this photo provided by the Governor of Kemerovo Region Press Office, Kemerovo Governor Sergei Tsivilyov, right, visits a wounded miner after an the accident at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine at the Kuzbass Clinical Center for the Protection of Miners' Health in Leninsk-Kuznetsky about 100 km (62 mies) of the Siberian city of Kemerovo, about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. At least 14 people have died in a fire at a coal mine in Russia's Siberia that also has left 35 others trapped and feared dead. Nearly 50 other miners were injured. (Governor of Kemerovo region press office photo via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities late Thursday called off a search for dozens of people still missing about 250 meters (820 feet) underground, following a coal mine fire in Siberia that killed at least 14 miners and rescuers.

Rescue teams were rushed out of the mine for safety reasons because of a buildup of explosive methane gas and a high concentration of toxic fumes from the fire. It was feared that the 38 missing people were already dead as their oxygen supply would have finished within hours even if they survived the blaze.

Authorities said 11 miners were found dead and three rescuers also died later while searching for others trapped in a remote section of the mine. Regional officials declared three days of mourning.

Kemerovo Governor Sergei Tsivilyov said 35 miners remained missing, and their exact location was unknown. Emergency officials reported three rescuers also missing.

A total of 285 people were in the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region of southwestern Siberia when a fire erupted and smoke quickly filled the mine through the ventilation system. Rescuers led to the surface 239 miners, 49 of whom were injured.

Russia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Dmitry Demeshin told reporters that the fire most likely resulted from a methane explosion caused by a spark.

Explosions of methane released from coal beds during mining are rare but they cause the most fatalities in the coal mining industry.

The Interfax news agency reported that miners have oxygen supplies normally lasting for six hours that could be stretched for a few more hours but would have expired by late Thursday.

Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the fire over violations of safety regulations that led to deaths. It said the mine director and two senior managers were detained.

President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to the families of the dead and ordered the government to offer all necessary assistance to those injured.

In 2016, 36 miners were killed in a series of methane explosions in a coal mine in Russia's far north. In the wake of the incident, authorities analyzed the safety of the country's 58 coal mines and declared 20 of them, or 34%, potentially unsafe.

The Listvyazhnaya mine wasn't among them at the time, according to media reports.

Russia’s state technology and ecology watchdog, Rostekhnadzor, inspected the mine in April and registered 139 violations, including breaching fire safety regulations.

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Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.