The blast occurred in the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Russian town of Belovo in the Kemerovo region 3,000 kilometers east of Moscow, Dow Jones International News reported.
Lyudmila Krylova, a spokeswoman for the local branch of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, was quoted saying the blast was apparently caused by a methane buildup.
At the time of the explosion 103 miners were working under the surface. Rescuers evacuated 90 miners and recovered 13 bodies. Rescue efforts were suspended at one point due to a high concentration of methane, but later resumed.
Four miners were hospitalized in critical condition, state-run Rossiya television reported; 19 others received first aid and were sent home.
Russia’s coal industry is in the top five countries with high accident rates and fatalities. In the deadliest disaster this year, a methane blast killed 47 miners at the Taizhina mine in the Kuzbass region of Siberia in April.