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Listvyazhnaya mine to be filled with methane for further operations — authorities

Three rescue units have arrived, a plan has been outlined

GRAMOTEINO /Kemerovo Region/, November 26. /TASS/. Three rescue units will be dispatched to the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo Region, where the rescue operation was had been suspended earlier due to the high risk of explosion. The dispatched units will seal the mine and let it fill with methane until its concentration reaches safe levels. These works are expected to take three days, after which the search for bodies will continue, Kemerovo Region Governor Sergey Tsivilyov told journalists Friday.

"Three rescue units have arrived, a plan has been outlined; the units are being briefed right now and are preparing to enter the mine. The plan of action is this: these three units will seal the galleries, which will be filled with methane naturally - about 257,000 cubic meters - so that the gas concentration could achieve over 20%, when the risk of explosion is reduced. According to our predictions, it will take three days. After that, we will make a decision to carry out further [rescues] operations at the mine," the governor said.