Russian diamond giant Alrosa says rescuers have abandoned a search for eight missing workers at a flooded diamond mine in eastern Siberia.
State-controlled Alrosa said on August 26 that there was no hope of finding survivors and conditions for rescue teams had also become more dangerous.
The company has been looking for the workers since a cavern collapsed and sent water rushing in at the Mir mine in the Sakha-Yakutia region on August 4.
Alrosa said the workers were at a depth of 210 meters when the flooding began.
"Three weeks have passed since the accident," said a statement from the company. "Medical experts believe that a human cannot survive for so long without water or food in humid conditions."
The rest of the 151 workers who were in the mine at the time of the accident have been rescued.
The Mir mine was launched in 2009 and produces 1 million tons of diamond ore per year. Last year, the diamonds it produced totaled 3.19 million carats, according to the company's website.
