March 19 (Reuters) - A methane explosion killed 25 people on Monday as it ripped through a Russian coal mine where 186 miners were working, the Emergencies Ministry said.

The Ulyanovskaya mine, in the southern Siberian region of Kemerovo, lies on some of the world's biggest coal reserves.

Following is a chronology of disasters at Russian coal mines since 1995:

Dec. 1997 - A methane gas explosion rips through the Zyryanovskaya mine in the city of Novokuznetsk in western Siberia, killing more than 30 miners.

Jan. 1998 - A powerful explosion at the Tsentralnaya mine in the Arctic town of Vorkuta kills 27 miners.

January 13, 2002 - At least five people die in a methane gas blast at the Vorkutinskaya mine in the northern Komi Republic.

Oct. 29, 2003 - Five miners are killed in a methane blast at a mine in the Far Eastern town of Partizansk.

April 10, 2004 - A gas explosion at the Taizhina colliery in Siberia's Kemerovo region kills 45.

Oct. 28, 2004 - A methane blast at the Listvyazhnaya mine in Siberia kills at least 13.

Feb. 9, 2005 - An explosion in the Yesaulskaya mine in Kemerovo kills 21.

Sept. 8, 2005 - A methane blast at Anzhero-Sudzhensk in Kemerovo region kills three.

Sept. 7, 2006 - Twenty-five miners die in a fire at a remote gold mine in Eastern Siberia near the border with China.

Feb. 25, 2007 - One miner is killed after part of a shaft collapses at a coal mine in Siberia's Kemerovo region.

March 1, 2007 - One coal miner is killed and nine are injured after part of a shaft collapses in Kemerovo region.

Source: Reuters

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