Russia mine blast kills 38

"Thirty-six people died and two are missing," a spokesman for the local branch of the emergency situations ministry said following today's blast.

The methane gas explosion happened deep underground during the morning shift at the Yubileinaya mine near Novokuznetsk, in west Siberia's Kemerovo region.

Officials said that 217 miners were below ground at the time. Six of the survivors were injured, two of them seriously, while a rescue operation was under way to find the two missing miners.

Regional Governor Aman Tuleyev told journalists that funerals for the dead men would take place on Saturday.

Russian press writes that the company knew about methane gas leak a week ago but did not stop, APA reports.

President Ilham Aliyev offered condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the tragic mine explosion.