Russia mourns 108 miners' deaths

Flooded caverns and flammable gas hampered the search for workers missing after an explosion at a Siberian coal mine as Russia held a day of mourning for the 108 killed in the country’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade.

Flags flew at half-staff, church services were held nationwide and TV stations took entertainment programs off the air after President Vladimir Putin declared an official day of mourning for victims of the disaster as well as for two other tragedies – a nursing home fire that left 63 dead, and a weekend plane crash that killed six.