Family's sorrow over mine victim

Mr Robertson had been examining a hazard monitoring system

The family of an East Yorkshire man killed in a Russian coal mine blast are struggling to come to terms with the tragedy, their priest says.

Ian Robertson, 55, of Hensall, near Goole, was among the 108 people killed at the Siberian mine on Monday.

He leaves a wife, Andrea, and three children in their 20s, Alex, Eleanor and Ruth.

Parish priest of Great Snaith Canon Cyril Roberts said: "They are very shocked and it's very hard for them."

Canon Roberts, who has known the family for about 20 years, said Mr Robertson worked abroad "a great deal" and the family was used to him being away for long periods.

He added: "It's very hard when anything like this happens at a distance.

"It's hard for Andrea and the kids to connect with what has happened.

"They are struggling to come to terms with the scale of what has happened to them.

"They find it difficult to speak to other people about it.

"They just need to come to terms with it in the company of their family and friends."

Deadliest disaster

Mr Robertson was in Russia working on a project for engineering consultancy firm White Young Green and had not been expected home for about another month.

He had been in the mine with company officials, safety experts and his interpreter, examining a British-made hazard monitoring system just before methane gas exploded at a depth of 885ft (270m).

The explosion killed 108 people, making it Russia's deadliest mining disaster in more than a decade.

About 200 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred early on Monday in the Kuzbass regional city of Novokuznetsk, about 1,850 miles east of Moscow.