12 people died in an explosion at a Soviet-era mine in Arctic Russia that extracts raw materials for fertiliser production, the Emergencies Ministry said Friday.
      
      The blast occurred while workers were tunneling at the mine that belongs, Murmansk region Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Gretskaya said. All the dead miners were between the ages of 20 and 37, she said.
      
      Russia's industrial safety oversight agency ruled the blast accidental, the Interfax news agency reported. A recovery operation to retrieve bodies is under way.
      
      Source: www.ap.org