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At Least 38 Miners Killed in Siberian Coal Mine Blast

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Russian authorities say an explosion at a Siberian coal mine has killed 38 miners. Officials say rescue teams have found all the victims and their bodies are being brought to the surface.

Officials say the methane gas explosion shook the mine Thursday as 194 miners and 23 engineers were working underground at the Yubileinaya mine, near the city of Novokuznetsk in Siberia's Kemerovo region.

The regional administration says about 180 of the workers were rescued safely from the mine. At least six of them were injured.

In March, an explosion a neighboring mine owned and operated by the same company (OAO Yuzhkuzbassugol) killed 110 miners. Kemerovo Regional governor Aman Tuleyev is calling for Russian authorities to consider a change in the mines' owners and management.

Russian mining authorities say they have tried to have the Yubileinaya mine closed in the past for safety violations. The country's aging coal mines are notoriously unsafe, with many lacking the latest equipment.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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