Technical failures led to mine tragedy: Russian President

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday technical failures were among the reasons which led to the Raspadskaya coal mine tragedy in southwest Siberia's Kemerovo region on May 9.

"I can't anticipate the results of the ongoing investigation; still it is absolutely clear that the technological conditions led to this dramatic outcome, one way or another," the president said at a meeting with the heads of federal security and investigation bodies.

After the meeting, Investigation Committee head Alexander Bastrykin was flown to Kemerovo for the second time in a week. He plans to meet with the relatives of the miners who perished.

Rescue workers stopped their operation on Thursday after discovering four new points of fire in the tunnels, exposing the risk of further explosions.

Two blasts in the coal mine have so far claimed 66 lives, with 24 miners still missing.

Source:Xinhua