Pope Sends Condolences for Siberia Mine Blast

30 September, 2026

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Jim Fair

28 November, 2021

2 min

Pope Sends Condolences for Siberia Mine Blast

At Least 52 Killed in Thursday Explosion at Listvyazhnaya Coal Mine

Pope Praying - Copyright: Vatican Media

Pope Francis today expressed his condolences to the victims of Thursday’s mine explosion in Siberia that claimed at least 52 lives, including both miners and rescuers. The tragedy occurred at the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region.

The Pope’s condolences came in the following telegram to Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin:

HIS EXCELLENCY VLADIMIR PUTIN

PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

HAVING LEARNED WITH SADNESS OF THE TRAGIC MINE EXPLOSION IN SIBERIA, HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS SENDS HIS CONDOLENCES TO YOU AND THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE. HE OFFERS THE ASSURANCE OF HIS PRAYERS FOR ALL WHO HAVE DIED AND FOR THOSE WHO MOURN THEIR LOSS. UPON ALL INVOLVED IN THE RECOVERY EFFORTS HIS HOLINESS INVOKES THE STRENGTH AND PEACE OF ALMIGHTY GOD.

CARDINAL PIETRO PAROLIN SECRETARY OF STATE

Sky News reported that the explosion was caused by a methane gas leak about 820 feet underground. A total of 285 people were in the mine at the time of the explosion; 239 miners were successfully led to the surface.

Thursday’s explosion was the deadliest mine accident in Russia since 2010 when two methane explosions and fire killed 91 people according to Sky.

A criminal investigation into the blast has been launched. Officials say the mine’s director, along with two senior managers, have been detained.

President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to the victims’ families and three days of mourning have been declared in the region.

The Listvyazhnaya mine is part of SDS-Holding, which is owned by the Siberian Business Union. According to local media, in 2004, a methane explosion in the same mine killed 13. In 2016, following the Vorkuta mine disaster, Russian authorities assessed the safety of 58 coal mines in the country and declared 34% of them as potentially unsafe. However, media reports state that Listvyazhnaya was not among them.

According to the news outlet Interfax, the last inspection of the Listvyazhnaya mine took place on November 19. After the accident, law enforcement officials stated that the miners had previously complained about the high levels of methane in the mine.

Jim Fair

Jim Fair has spent the past two decades as a communicator for Catholic organizations. He is a convert to the Catholic faith and is grateful to his wife, Charmaine, for her continuing efforts to save his soul. They have a son and daughter, both happily married, and four grandchildren. Before devoting his life full-time to things Catholic, Jim enjoyed a 23-year career in various communications roles for large corporations. Before that, he worked as a newspaper reporter, photographer, and editor. He has served as president of the Chicago Public Relations Forum, chairman of the American Petroleum Institute General Committee on Communications, and a fellow of Greater Leadership Chicago. He was a member of the founding committee of the chemical industry’s Responsible Care Program. Jim is an active member of St. John Vianney Parish in Northlake, Illinois, where he chairs the finance council.