RIA Novosti reported that Mr Vladimir Putin Russian Prime Minister expects a West Siberian coal mine where up to 90 people died in two explosions in May to be fully operational again soon.

Mr Aman Tuleyev the Kemerovo region governor told Mr Putin that the coal mine could resume operations next month. He said that "The more we drag out the restoration of the coal mine, the more comfortable people become.”

Mr Putin said "I very much expect that the coal mine to be restored in the shortest time and will fully resume its work on schedule."

Mr Putin urged the mine authorities to have an informal approach to solving the social issues concerning the payments to the relatives of the deceased miners.

The Raspadskaya coalmine in the town of Mezhdurechensk was severely affected by two explosions that hit the mine on the night of May 8th and 9th. 67 bodies have been recovered from the mine with another 23 missing and presumed dead.

The accident is thought to have been caused by poor observation of safety regulations.

(Sourced from RIA Novosti)