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Foreign leaders express condolences over Listvyazhnaya coal mine tragedy

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his telegram, noted that he was "shocked by the news about the gas explosion at the Kemerovo Region’s coal mine

MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. /TASS/. Turkey, China, Armenia, South Ossetia, Bulgaria, Germany, as well as US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric, have offered their deepest condolences to Russia over the tragedy at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his telegram, noted that he was "shocked by the news about the gas explosion at the Kemerovo Region’s coal mine, which resulted in a large number of victims." "On behalf of the Chinese government, the Chinese people and on my own behalf, I send my deepest condolences over the loss of life and express my sincere sympathy to the families of those killed and injured," the Chinese leader noted.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also paid his respects to the victims of the tragedy. "<…> Let me express my condolences on my own behalf and on behalf of the Armenian people over the explosion in Kuzbass. Many people were killed, so, I want to express my compassion to the families and friends of the victims," the prime minister said during a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi.

US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan was also saddened by the accident at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine. "On behalf of all of my colleagues at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow I offer my deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones and for everyone injured at the Listvyazhnaya mine. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and their families," Sullivan said, according to a Twitter account of the US Embassy’s spokesman, Jason Rebholz.

German Government Spokesman Steffen Seibert said that his country "shared the grief with Russians", wishing the victims "a speedy recovery". Similar statements were delivered by the Turkish foreign ministry, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric, President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

On Thursday morning, the rescuers received a smoke alarm from the Listvyazhnaya coal mine in the Belovsky District of Kuzbass. Rescuers and healthcare workers were dispatched to the site. According to the Emergencies Ministry, some 285 miners were underground at the time of the accident. As many as 239 people were evacuated. According to the latest data, some 52 people died, including six rescuers.