Moscow, Jumada I 19, 1437, Feb 28, 2016, SPA -- Thirty-six people are dead after Russia's worst coal mining accident in years, with authorities saying Sunday that they have abandoned rescue efforts in the northern town of Vorkuta. "This is a terrible tragedy for Russia and for our coal industry," dpa quoted Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich as saying, after confirming that the 26 miners trapped in the mine were most likely dead. Four miners were killed in an explosion on Thursday and another 26 were trapped after part of the mine collapsed. Six rescue workers died on Sunday in a second explosion at the Severnaya mine, which resulted from an effort to free the trapped miners, taking the death toll to 36. Citing Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the rescue effort had been abandoned. "We are forced to acknowledge that all the conditions at that section of the mine would not allow a person to survive," Puchkov said in comments carried by Interfax. --SPA 21:07 LOCAL TIME 18:07 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w