MOSCOW —

       A fire at a coal mine in Siberia killed 11 people and injured more than 40 on Thursday, with dozens of others remaining trapped, Russian authorities said.

       Efforts to rescue those trapped in the mine were halted on Thursday afternoon because of an explosion threat, and rescuers were rushed out of the mine, administrators of the mine told the Interfax news agency.

       The blaze broke out in the Kemerovo region in southwestern Siberia. Russia’s state Tass news agency reported, citing an unnamed emergency official, that coal dust caught fire, and smoke quickly filled the Listvyazhnaya mine through the ventilation system.

       A total of 285 people were in the mine at the time of the incident, Kemerovo Gov. Sergei Tsivilyov said on the messaging app Telegram. He said 35 miners remained trapped underground, and their exact location was unknown.

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       Tsivilyov said in another post that 49 people with injuries had sought medical assistance, down from anearlier toll of 60, while Russia’s acting minister for emergency situations, Alexander Chupriyan, said 44 miners were hospitalized with injuries. The differences in injury tolls couldn’t be immediately reconciled.

       Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the fire on charges of violating safety regulations that led to deaths.

       President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to the families of the killed miners and ordered the government to provide all necessary assistance to those who were injured.

       Putin was in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on Thursday afternoon to meet with his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, who also offered condolences to the families of the victims. Putin noted that the situation at the mine “unfortunately, is not getting easier.”

       “There is a danger to the life of the rescuers. ... Let’s hope that [they] will manage to save as many people as possible,” Putin said.

       In 2016, 36 miners were killed in a series of methane explosions in a coal mine in Russia’s far north. In the wake of the incident, authorities analyzed the safety of the country’s 58 coal mines and declared 20 of them, or 34%, potentially unsafe.

       The Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region wasn’t among them at the time, according to media reports.

       The latest inspection of the mine took place just a week ago, on Nov. 19, Interfax reported, citing officials from Rostekhnadzor, Russia’s state technology and ecology watchdog. The report didn’t offer any details on the results of the inspection.

       According to Tass, the regional branch of Rostekhnadzor also inspected the mine in April and registered 139 different violations, including breaching fire safety regulations.