RUSSIAN MINE EXPLOSIONS KILL 36 WORKERS, RESCUERS

Dozens of Russian coal miners and several rescue workers were killed after a methane gas leak caused a series of explosions and a partial collapse of the mine, emergency officials said Sunday.

A third explosion early Sunday at the Severnayamine in Vorkuta, north of the Arctic Circle, killed five rescue workers and a miner, bringing to 36 the number of people killed in the incident, according to the Associated Press.

Russia’s Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said Sunday there was no chance for survival for 26 miners who had been trapped underground, the Rus- sian news agency TASS reported.

When the first explosion occurred Thursday there were 111 miners underground; 81 were rescued, the AP reported. The cause of the accident, which the BBC said is one of the worst Russian mining disasters in recent years, is under investigation.