Blast hits Russia’s largest coal mine, 4 workers injured

Blast hits Russia’s largest coal mine, 4 injured

MOSCOW — A methane explosion tore through Russia’s largest underground coal mine on Saturday, injuring at least four people, a regional emergency services official said.

About 180 workers remained deep in the mine hours after the explosion, said Valery Korchagin, a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry in the west Siberian region of Kemerovo. It was not immediately clear if those workers were trapped.

Another 132 workers have been brought to the surface and four of them were injured, Korchagin said.

The mine, the Raspadskaya, produces about 8 million tons (8.8 million short tons) of coal a year, according to the company’s website.

The Kemerovo region is about 300 kilometers (190 miles) east of Moscow.