Russia dam burst kills 15 miners and 13 more feared dead in devastating floods

FIFTEEN gold miners have died, and 13 more are feared dead after a dam burst during heavy floods in Siberia.

Photos of the devastated area, 2,500 miles east of Moscow, show brown water swamping a large part of the barren landscape, sweeping away several cabins where the artisan miners lived.

Today's collapse during torrential downpours occurred at about 6am near the village of Shchetinkino in the Krasnoyarsk region.

The regional health ministry said 16 people who were injured had been hospitalised.

Russian media also reported that residents were evacuated from a nearby village of Kuragino, as there was flooding caused by rising water levels in the Seiba River, where the dam was sited.

Rescue workers suspended their search for survivors after nightfall but were to resume their efforts on Sunday, reported the Associated Press.

Russia's Investigative Committee Committee said it has opened a criminal investigation on possible charges of violation of workplace safety regulations as a result of the dam burst.

The collapsed dam was said to have not been registered or approved for use by Rostechnadzor, Russia's agency for technological and ecological oversight.

Reuters reported that the heavy rains apparently caused erosion of the facility.

President Vladimir Putin ordered help be given to those affected in the deadly flood.

He also told officials to find the cause of the disaster and prevent any further impact on nearby residents.

MINERS MISSING

Russia is one of the world's top gold producers with most of its output of the precious metal coming from large professional industrial mines.

Alluvial or artisanal gold mining in Russia – where gold is extracted from rivers and streams – is usually small-scale but is still conducted by registered firms, which are supposed to apply health and safety rules.

Krasnoyarsk officials said that water released by the dam partially flooded two dormitories of the camp in which 74 people lived, adding that 13 miners were still missing.

Yuri Lapshin, chairman of the Krasnoyarsk regional government, said: "The hydrotechnical structure was built in a makeshift way… in violation of standards."

Interfax news said the miners worked for Siberian privately-held firm Sibzoloto, which oversees several artisanal mining teams.

Sibzoloto produced about three tonnes of gold in 2018, according to Sergei Kashuba, the head of Russia's Gold Industrialists' Union.

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