The Investigative Committee confirmed Tuesday that 18 workers died in Monday's methane explosion in a mine in the Komi republic and said all the bodies had been identified by relatives.
Local and federal authorities had cited differing numbers of fatalities after the accident Monday morning in the town of Vorkuta, with emergency officials saying only 16 had been confirmed dead.
One miner who was seriously injured in the blast was flown to a Moscow hospital, where he was in critical condition Tuesday, a Health Ministry representative told Interfax. Two other miners who were injured were being treated in a Vorkuta hospital.
The blast at the Vorkutinskaya coal mine was the second fatal accident at a Russian mine in less than a month.
(MT)
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