Earth-trapped Zapadnaya coalminers spotted

Two points where the earth-trapped miners of the Zapadnaya coal mine may be found have been fixed, Rostov region (Southern federal district) governor Vladimir Chub said at a meeting with their relatives.

The governor, heading the operative headquarters set up for the emergency set-up at Zapadnaya, said that getting to the entrapped miners would take about two days.

At the present time, two tunnels are being driven from the Komsomolskaya Pravda and Leninskaya mines to reach the flooded mine, the governor said.

The rescue teams are doing "virtually manual" work in four shifts.

Late on Thursday, an accident happened at Zapadnaya and the water accumulated in old workings rushed in. Twenty five coal miners managed to get to the surface and 46 remained trapped at a 800-meter depth.