Putin berates officials over deadly blast at mine where 100s of safety violations were found

Putin berates officials over deadly mine blast

MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is berating officials over the blast at a Siberian coal mine this month that claimed at least 66 lives.

Putin voiced disbelief that the head of the Raspadskaya mine had not been fired after officials flagged hundreds of safety violations over the last year.

He spoke Monday from Moscow via video link to a commission charged with investigating the aftermath of the accident in the regional center of Novokuznetsk.

The head of the mine, Igor Volkov, attended the meeting and heard Putin say that, despite four attempts to dismiss him through the courts, “Mr. Volkov is still working, still sitting in this room.”

Last week officials postponed the search for 24 workers still missing, because of dangerous gas levels.