Russian regulators have found serious safety violations at a Siberian coal mine where a methane gas explosion last killed more than 100 miners last week, authorities said Monday.

A preliminary inquiry found the Ulyanovskaya mine, operated by subsidiary of steel and mining giant Evraz SA, had problems with equipment safety rules, federal industrial watchdog Rostekhnadzor said in a statement. It did not give further details.

Rostekhnadzor also said it had begun inspecting 60 coal mines in the Kemerovo region, where the Ulyanovskaya mine is located, for violations of safety rules, and would inspect mines nationwide in coming weeks.

Company and government officials have repeatedly emphasized that the Ulyanovskaya mine, one of the newest to be put into operation in Russia, had modern equipment.

The explosion on March 19 killed 108 and was Russia’s worst mining disaster in more than a decade.

The blast highlighted the hazardous state of Russia’s mining industry, which fell into disrepair when government subsidies dried up after the Soviet collapse. ITAR-Tass said it was the deadliest mine accident in the coal-rich Kuzbass region in 60 years.

AP

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