At least eight dead in Russian mine blast

An apparent methane blast ripped through a coal mine in Siberia early this morning, killing at least eight miners and trapping dozens more underground, Russian officials said.

Of the 52 miners known to have been in the Taizhina mine at the time of the blast, 13 were rescued or made it to the surface on their own, said Valery Kovchagin, an emergency department spokesman in the Kemerovo region.