Russians mourn 108 Siberian mine explosion deaths

NOVOKUZNETSK, Russia -- Flooded caverns and flammable gas hampered the search Wednesday for two workers missing after an explosion at a Siberian coal mine, as Russia held a day of mourning for the 108 miners killed in the country's worst mining disaster in more than a decade.

Flags flew at half-staff, church services were held nationwide and TV stations took entertainment programs off the air Wednesday to mourn the victims of the mining disaster as well as for two other tragedies -- a nursing home fire that left 63 dead and a weekend plane crash that killed six.

President Vladimir Putin led televised minutes-of-silence with his Cabinet, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church broadcast condolences and lawmakers called for a full investigation of the disasters.

In the Kuzbass regional city of Novokuznetsk, about 1,850 miles east of Moscow, relatives of those killed in the Ulyanovskaya mine lined up to identify the victims, some nearly burned beyond recognition.

About 200 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred early Monday at a depth of around 885 feet. About 93 made it to the surface safely. Regional officials said a British employee of the British-German mining consultancy IMC was among the dead.

Mine brigade leader Vladimir Gunko said just six of the 11 members of his brigade survived the blast.

"The explosion happened. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't breathe. I had sand in my helmet and I pressed it against my mouth. I began shouting 'Guys! Guys!' but no one answered. I couldn't see anything, literally no more than 10 centimeters out. Then I began to search with my feet, maybe to step on somebody, but I couldn't find anyone," Gunko told NTV television. "You wouldn't see anything, like even in a horror movie."

Water, gas and structural damage were slowing the search for two men still missing. Divers sent underground covered 165 feet but were unable to go further because their path was blocked by rubble, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

Shoigu also cautioned that it would be impossible to quickly pinpoint the precise cause of the blast, saying it would take at least two weeks to collect data from instruments in the mine.

The explosion highlighted the hazardous state of Russia's mining industry, which fell into disrepair when government subsidies dried up after the Soviet collapse. According to the ITAR-Tass news agency, it was the deadliest mine accident in the Kuzbass region in 60 years.

Nikolai Kultyn, an inspector with federal industrial regulator Rostekhnadzor, said Tuesday there were no gas monitors where the pocket of methane gas had accumulated. He said the high number of deaths was likely due to the fact that many people were in a small area at the time of the blast.

Labor union officials blamed the incident in part on quota systems that encourage miners to work faster and dig more coal, potentially leading to errors. Some government officials in the past have accused private companies of cutting corners on safety measures in order to reduce costs.

Russia's economy has surged in recent years, fed mainly by high world prices for oil and other natural resources that have stuffed government coffers and trickled down to bring a sense of prosperity among average people.

The growth has contributed to Putin's wide popularity despite persistent problems like corruption, the declining population and crumbling infrastructure.