World
  |
|
Russia closes 20 mines over safety fears following deadly blast
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com 03 28 07
Russian authorities said on Tuesday they had closed more than 20 mines in Siberia following safety checks launched after a mine explosion last week killed 108 people.
"We have closed more than 20 mines where the concentration of gas was a bit above normal," said Aman Tuleyev, governor of the Kemerovo region in western Siberia where the accident took place.
"That means the amount of coal extracted will be reduced, but we have no other choice."
In comments cited by Interfax news agency, Tuleyv called on the owners of the closed mines to make use of new technology to improve safety standards.
On Monday, Russia's industrial safety agency (Rostekhnadzor) blamed last week's explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine on "serious breaches" of safety rules and began checking mine conditions across the country.
Rostekhnadzor said the closed mines would only be affected for five days until the results of the safety checks could be handed over to the courts.
The Ulyanovskaya mine was run by Yuzhkuzbassugol, a company owned by the Evraz metals giant in which Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich holds a 41-percent stake.
AFP 27 1722 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels