Tampering Blamed For Deadly Russian Mine Blast

The blast at the Yubileynaya mine was the second such tragedy in the area in as many months (ITAR-TASS) June 6, 2007 -- Russia's state safety watchdog says an explosion that killed 39 miners in May was caused by tampering with safety systems.

Konstantin Pulikovsky, the head of the Rostekhnadzor safety agency, said miners at the Siberian Yubileynaya coal mine disabled a system monitoring the concentration of methane gas in a "rush for super-profits."

Officials say a methane blast that killed 110 people at a nearby mine in March happened for the same reason.

(Reuters)