The accident at Russia's largest coal mine "Raspadskaya" Bashny.Net

Victory Day was marred by a tragic event: the night of 8th to 9th May in the Kuzbass town of Mezhdurechensk, Russia's largest coal mine "Raspadskaya", two explosions occurred. At the time of the first explosion in the mine were 359 people.




Workers remove a festive sign above the entrance to the checkpoint Raspadskaya mine. (REUTERS / Alexander Urakchin)



Relatives of the miners at the entrance to the mine "Raspadskaya" in Mezhdurechensk on May 10th. (AFP - Getty Images / Yuri Yuriev)



The accident at the mine "Raspadskaya" - a unique case for the coal industry. Experts believe that the cause of the explosions become sudden methane emissions of a few tens of thousands of cubic meters. (Maxim Shipenko / EPA)



General view of the building of the Kuzbass mine "Raspadskaya" destroyed an underground explosion. (AFP - Getty Images)



Rescue workers stand near a destroyed mine ventilation. The first explosion at the mine "Raspadskaya" took place on 8 May, 23 hours and 55 minutes. A second explosion on May 9 at 01:25 MSK completely destroyed ventilation facilities. (AP / Sergey Ponomarev)



The accident at the "Raspadskaya" where coal occurs at great depths - a unique opportunity for the industry. Possible cause explosions - a sudden release of gas, which can be regarded as a mystery of nature. In addition, unique by the fact that after the first and second explosion occurred. (REUTERS / Alexander Urakchin)



Employees of Ministry of Emergency Situations are preparing again to continue the rescue work. (EPA / Maxim Shipenko)



Female - one of the relatives of the trapped miners rubble crying, standing next to a lifeguard Sergei Izvekov. (EPA / Maxim Shipenko)



Rescuers during repair work on the building severely damaged the ventilation shaft. (AP / Sergey Ponomarev)



The man next to the monument, where are the candles in memory of those killed in the night from 8 to 9 May miners. The tragedy at the "Raspadskaya" - is not the first major accident involving miners, for this spring: at the beginning of April, China hosted a large-scale operation to rescue the miners. (AP)