OREANDA-NEWS. Severstal deeply regrets the tragic accident at the Komsomolskaya mine, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and missing.

A large-scale search and rescue operation, begun as soon as possible after the accident, continues. Seven rescue units and mine rescuers are running the operation. At the present time eight miners are known to have died, with two miners still missing.

Severstal is fully cooperating with the federal Rostekhnadzor authority in order to examine the cause of explosion. A specially established commission will investigate the cause of accident.

Gas levels in the mine are now normal.

A hotline has been launched for anyone concerned about the welfare of miners at Komsomolskaya.

Background information - At 18:50 local time (June 25, 2007) the controller of the Komsomolskaya mine received a signal about an accident at one of the outputs. An emergency response plan has been launched. A working group was formed with mine representatives, mine-rescue units and Rostekhnadzor representatives. A total of 277 miners were underground at the time of the accident. 250 miners had been safely evacuated to the surface, with a number of others remaining inside to help with the rescue operation. Eight people died in the accident, with one currently in hospital. Two are still missing.

Komsomolskaya mine is a part of Vorkutaugol, a mining company owned by Severstal The production capacity of Komsomolskaya in 2006 totaled 2 452 thousand tons. The number of employees is 1292. Komsomolskaya has two faces and is equipped with reliable and modern equipment. The mine produces 2G coal. Vorkutaugol consists of five coal mines and one coal open-cast. Four of the mines are now working on a normal schedule.