Rescuers recovered the last four bodies of miners killed in a fire in a Siberian gold mine, bringing the death toll to 25, Russian news agencies reported.

The death toll from the fire has risen to 25, Irina Andrianova, spokeswoman of the Emergency Situations Ministry, was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency early on Sunday.

The blaze started at a depth of 85-135 meters in the Vershino-Darasunsky gold mine in the Chita region, about 5,000 km east of Moscow.

Emergency officials said 64 miners were in the pit when the blaze erupted and 31 of them managed to crawl to safety within hours.

Earlier on Saturday, three miners managed to walk out of the mine and five other miners were rescued alive.

Chita governor Ravil Geniatulin declared a day of mourning on Monday for the dead, Itar-Tass said.

Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu was leading a government commission to investigate the accident. Regional officials said the fire could have been caused by negligence during welding work.

The Vershino-Darasunsky mine is owned by Britain's Highland Gold Mining company and accounts for about 13 percent of its total production. The company has two mines in Russia, with the other being in the Far Eastern Khabarovsk territory.

Source: Xinhua