Moscow , Russia ( CNN ) -- The death toll from a Russian coal mine accident has reached 52 , with 38 people still missing , the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said Tuesday . `` The rescue operation to locate and recover the missing people is being carried out around the clock , '' Veronica Smolskaya , spokeswoman for the ministry , told CNN . More than 80 survivors are currently in hospitals , according to the Russian State Health authorities . Emergency Situation Minister Sergei Shoigu said more than 700 rescue workers are now combing numerous underground tunnels of the mine , and the plan is to complete the operation within the next 24 hours , according to the ministry 's website . He was speaking at a special meeting of the rescue headquarters in Kemerovo region , which was also attended by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin , who traveled to the region Tuesday . Russian officials are still displaying hope and optimism in public , but several sources at the mine told Russian reporters on conditions of anonymity that finding anyone underground who survived the explosions would be a miracle . `` Hope is always the last one to die , but there is indeed little hope left , '' Sergei Cheremnov , spokesman for the local regional Kemerovo governor , told CNN on the phone from the site of the accident . Cheremnov also said the first six funerals took place Tuesday . Five miners were buried in the town of Mezhdurechensk itself , where the accident took place , and one was buried in the town of Tashtagol , also in Kemerovo region . The gas explosion in the Raspadskaya mine occurred around 8:55 p.m. Saturday ( 12:55 p.m . ET ) , when 359 people were working at the time . The mine is located near the western Siberian town of Mezhdurechensk , more than 2,300 miles east of Moscow , Russia . Almost 300 people were evacuated shortly after the explosion . More than 50 rescue workers had gone into the mine to recover the rest of the victims when a second gas explosion rocked the structure about four-and-a-half hours later , officials said , causing more fatalities and destruction . Dozens of miners and rescue workers were trapped as a result of that second , much more powerful explosion , and all communications with them were disrupted . Thick smoke and high methane concentrations in the mine prevented active rescue operations underground on Sunday and most of Monday morning , Russian officials said . The operation was further complicated by the very size of the mine : Raspadskaya is one of the largest in Russia 's mining industry . It has dozens of underground tunnels with a total length of almost 200 miles , according to Kemerovo Gov . Aman Tuleyev . Putin said on Russian state television Tuesday the investigation is closely analyzing all possible clues to determine the cause of the blasts . `` When such disasters are investigated , attention is always given to studying all aspects of the problem , including the so-called human factor , which means unsafe handling of fire , '' Putin said while talking to victims ' families . But once the groups of rescuers entered the mine after the first blast , he said , `` there could have not been any unsafe handling of fire or equipment . It 's simply out of the question , '' he said . `` The second blast was the hardest . '' The victims ' families will be paid 1 million rubles ( more than $ 33,000 ) in moral damages , and underage children of those killed in the accident will be paid a pension of 10,000 rubles ( more than $ 330 ) every month until they reach the age of 18 , the Russian government decided Tuesday . The injured will receive 400,000 rubles ( more than $ 13,300 ) , and miners sustaining light injuries will receive 200,000 rubles ( more than $ 6,600 ) . Local authorities and the management of Raspadskaya mine will also allocate money to those affected , in addition to the federal government . On Tuesday , the first working day in Russia following three days of the May 9 Victory Day holidays , the shares of Raspadskaya mine plummeted by 15 percent at the Moscow stock exchange .
Death toll from explosions at a Russian mine reaches 52 . 52 people still missing following the first working day explosions . 52 people were working in mine near town of Moscow . At least 18 rescue workers died in a first blast .