Explosion in Russian coal mine

An explosion occurred in a Siberian coal mine on Monday, Russian emergency officials said. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.

There were 180 workers in the mine in the Ulyanovskaya mine in the Kemerovo region city of Novokuznetsk when the blast occurred, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Veronika Smolskaya said, reports AP.

Rescuers were evacuating workers from the mine, which is located in the coal-rich Kuzbass area in central Siberia, Smolskaya said.