Twenty-two miners die in Siberian blast

An apparent methane blast ripped through a coal mine in Siberia early today, killing 22 miners and trapping at least 25 others underground, officials said.

Thirteen miners were rescued or made it to the surface on their own, said Valery Korchagin, an emergency department spokesman in the Kemerovo region. He said four of the rescued miners were injured and two of them were hospitalised with burns. At least 25, and as many as 29, miners remained missing, he said.