Reuters reported that Russian riot police were called in to disperse coal miners and their families who had blocked a railway line in Siberia to protest against a mine accident last weekend which killed at least 66 people.

Footage obtained by Reuters Television showed dozens of people holding candles in the dark in the town of Mezhdurechensk before the riot police moved in late on Friday. Men, most of them young, began pelting the policemen with stones, while others were dragged off and arrested. Police said 28 people had been arrested and could be charged with blocking the railway.

Russian agencies cited regional governor Mr Aman Tuleyev as saying the protest was the work of young people and bandits. Mr Tuleyev said “The young people had been purposefully stirred up.”

Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said Mr Tuleyev met Raspadskaya miners on Saturday. He said workers would continue to be paid while the mine was closed, and that a full investigation would be carried out into the cause of the accident.

(Sourced from Reuters)