Sixty-one people were reported dead and work was continuing into the night to rescue dozens after an explosion at a coal mine in central Siberia, Russian authorities said Monday, ACCORDING TO (dpa) . Some 200 workers were underground at the Ulyonovsk longwall mine in the Kemerova region more than 3,000 kilometres east of Moscow when the methane blast occurred at 0730 GMT. The explosion, that was preceded by a suspected methane leak, has been described as the worst mining catastrophe in the region since 1997. Sixty-one bodies had been pulled from the mine, Interfax said quoting regional officials saying as rescue efforts continued. Rescue workers had pulled 75 people from the mine and 64 remained underground, a spokesman for the Kemerovo regional administration told the agency.
