Moscow - Rescuers pulled four miners out alive early on Wednesday from a Russian mine in which a gas explosion killed 11 of their colleagues, said an official with the regional office of the emergencies ministry.

The four rescued miners had been trapped underground for 40 hours, following the blast at the Ziminka mine on Monday in the Siberian region of Kemerovo, the Russian news agencies quoted the official as saying.

Up to 21 miners were underground when the blast caused a roof construction at the 69-year-old mine to cave in, according to the emergencies ministry.

Three miners managed to escape on their own and another two were brought out and taken to hospital, reported Itar-Tass news agency.

The rescue workers also brought up the bodies of 11 miners during the night after the blast, a ministry spokeswoman said.

Seven deaths at mines last year

The local administration and parliament declared Thursday a day of mourning.

Coal production at the mine, in the town of Prokopyevsk, was suspended after the accident.

Last year, there were four accidents, and a total of seven fatalities, at mines in the same region, one of the main coal-producing areas in Russia.

Although privately owned, Russian mines depend on state-owned customers for income, but many are broke and refuse to pay their bills. As a result, investment in the mines has been inadequate.

Last year, nearly 200 miners died in Ukraine in accidents below ground, often due to gas explosions or the collapse of shafts.