At least 16 miners were killed Monday when a methane explosion tore through a coal mine in the remote Russian Far North within the Arctic Circle, in the latest disaster to hit the country's mining industry. Two miners were still missing after the explosion at the Vorkutinskaya mine controlled by Russian steel-making giant Severstal in the Komi region town of Vorkuta, the emergencies ministry said in a statement. A total of 259 miners were working underground at the time, with 23 in the shaft where the explosion took place.