Russian diamond giant Alrosa says rescuers have abandoned a search for four of eight missing workers at a flooded diamond mine in eastern Siberia.
State-controlled Alrosa said on August 15 that it was impossible to continue searching at a depth of 310 meters, where four miners were working when a cavern collapsed and sent water rushing in at the Mir mine in the Sakha-Yakutia region on August 4.
The search for the other four still missing after the accident will continue, according to Alrosa. It said they were at a depth of 210 meters when the flooding began.
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.