Miners still stuck in Russian gold mine, rescue halted

Most rescue efforts have been suspended at a gold mine in Russia's far east, where 13 miners were trapped by a rock fall on Monday, due to the risk of another collapse, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.

The Pioneer gold mine, one of Russia's largest, is in the Amur region which borders China, about 5,300 km east of Moscow. The mine is owned by gold and copper producer UMMC.

Emergency workers would study water deposits discovered at the bottom of four shafts, the emergencies ministry said in a statement posted on a social media messenger app.

"This will allow us to establish a complete picture of the entire depth of the mine and make a decision on further work," it added.

The ministry earlier said that the mine was probably flooded.

MINE DIRECTOR ARRESTED

The managing director of a gold mine has been arrested over safety violations, investigators in Far East Russia’s Amur region said Monday, as reported by Moscow Today news publication.

“The managing director (of the collapsed gold mine) was detained in the Amur region on suspicion of violating safety requirements during operations at the Pioneer mine,” said the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.