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Putin demands Siberian mine blasts investigation speed up

25 June 2010 00:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin demanded a speedy completion of investigations into the blasts which killed at least 67 miners at the Raspadskaya coal mine in Western Siberia in May, RIA Novosti news agency reported Thursday, APA reports quoting news.xinhuanet.com website.

Russian emergencies officials say at least 23 miners are still missing after two blasts that rocked the mine near the town of Mezhdurechensk on May 9.

"There has still been no final finding of the causes of the two explosions. Specialists will continue to work until all circumstances of the incident are established," Putin told a meeting in the western Siberian town of Novokuznetsk.

He told the Russian industrial safety watchdog, Rostechnadzor, that this work should be conducted quickly and professionally.

"The schedule cannot be extended interminably," Putin said, adding that "the coalmine will be restored."

Putin estimated the mine restoration would cost 10 billion rubles (nearly 330 million U.S. dollars).

Analysis of the Raspadskaya tragedy indicated the coal mining industry badly needed "systematic change," the prime minister pointed out.

Earlier in June, the Rostechnadzor extended the probe into the incident until the end of August.

The accident at the Raspadskaya coal mine is believed to have been caused by poor observation of safety regulations.

The Rostechnadzor detected more than 1,400 safety violations at the mine in 2009 and in first four months this year, and had suspended its production five times previously