Blast at Russian mine in western Siberia kills eight

Eight miners have been killed by a methane blast at a Russian coal mine.

Many miners were brought to the surface safely at the mine in Siberia's western Kemerovo region, but 64 are still underground. There are 24 injured.

A second explosion has now been reported at the Raspadskaya mine near Mezhdurechensk, and contact has been lost with a team of 20 rescuers.

Many of the country's mines have poor safety records, and there have been calls for standards to be tightened.

The governor of Kemerovo, Aman Tuleyev, has taken charge of the rescue operation.

The mine, about 3,500km (1,900 miles) east of Moscow, produces about eight million tons of coal a year, according to its website.

Kemerovo is part of the major coal-producing Kuzbass region.

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