Moscow, Feb 9, SPA -- An explosion swept through a mine in thecoal-rich Kuzbass region of Siberia on Wednesday, killing17 workers and leaving nine missing, the EmergencySituations Ministry said. The blast occurred at the 20-year-old Yesaulskaya mine inthe Kemerovo region, about 3,000 kilometers (1,850 miles)east of Moscow. Four miners were hospitalized with injuriesbut their lives were out of danger, said Olga Raskova ofthe Kemerovo regional government press service. Thirty miners were in the shaft when the explosionoccurred, the press service said. Rescuers were searchingfor missing miners, Raskova said.--SPA1349 Local Time 1049 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/238234