Siberia mine accident: 44 injured

The number of people injured in an accident at the Listvyazhnaya coal mine in Russia's Kemerovo Region in Siberia on Thursday has increased to 44, and all of them were taken to hospitals, a spokesman for the emergency services told Sputnik.

"According to the updated data, 44 people were injured in an emergency at the mine, and another one died," the spokesman said.

All 44 miners were taken to hospitals, two of them remain in serious condition and the condition of other 42 is of moderate or mild severity, according to the spokesman.

Both patients in severe condition were admitted to the intensive care unit, a spokesman for the regional health emergency service, Anton Duzhik, told Sputnik.

The latest situation updates say the death toll has grown to eleven. Overall, there were 285 people in the mine.

The smoke contamination began around 01:30 GMT on Thursday. The coal mine is located in a rural suburb of the city of Belovo. The mine belongs to the SDS-Ugol Holding Company, one of the top three coal producers in Russia.