OREANDA-NEWS  A survivor of the collapse in a tunnel in the Amur region said that the victims wanted to remove a metal cable in this abandoned mine, the regional prosecutor's office told RIA Novosti.

"This is a mine, gold used to be mined there. It has not been used for a very long time, more than 10 years. Three men, ordinary citizens, entered there without authorization. It follows from the survivor's explanation that they wanted to remove the metal cable," the source told the agency.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the region reported a rock collapse in an unused tunnel located near the urban-type settlement of Tokur in the Selemdzhinsky district. The SSC of the region had previously established that three men had voluntarily descended into the tunnel. When the rocks collapsed, one of them was able to get out on his own, and two remained under the rubble with various injuries. During the search operations, the staff of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Khabarovsk Territory discovered and brought to the surface the bodies of two victims. The investigation is conducting an inspection.