Death toll from mine blasts reaches 32

Rossiya 24 television said the government official heading the rescue operation announced the news during a briefing yesterday morning at the Siberian mine.

Rescue workers were able to go down into parts of the mine hit by two explosions over the weekend. High levels of methane raised fears of further explosions and hindered rescue efforts.

Many of the dead were rescue workers who entered the Raspadskaya mine after the first blast. The second, more powerful, blast destroyed the main air shaft.

Emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu is heading a team of more than 500 rescue workers.

Mr Shoigu said the search was stepped up after methane levels dropped to acceptable levels, but another danger was now posed by rising water.

He said rescuers had a maximum of 48 hours to reach 13 people in two locations that are being flooded.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the prosecutor general to determine what caused the mine blasts at Raspadskaya

The mine is one of several in Mezhdurechensk, a city of about 100,000 in the coal-mining Kemerovo region of western Siberia. Speaking at a government meeting, Mr Medvedev described it as one of the best equipped in the country.

More than 500 emergency workers from around the country were brought to Mezhdurechensk to help restore ventilation to the mine and rebuild shafts so the search for those missing could resume.

The Raspadskaya mine is 1,650 feet deep and has 220 miles of

underground tunnels. It has produced about eight million tons of coal a year, according to the company's website.

Mine explosions and other industrial accidents are common in Russia and other former Soviet republics.