The powerful mine blasts in Russia’s Siberia have taken the lives of 52 miners, leaving dozens trapped underground. Some, however, managed to narrowly avoid the disaster.

Vladimir Goloshchapov, the only miner on his team to survive, told journalists how a survival mask saved his life.

“My job means I work on my own. When the blast went off, it was as if you're at home and the roof is falling down on you. There was lots of noise and everything changed in an instant. I felt as though I was already dead. The air disappeared and there was only dust. Of course, the electricity cut out, as did the lights. I was pushed to the wall. For a couple of seconds, I had no idea what was going on. But then the survival mask started working and I began breathing through it. Had I hesitated for another two minutes, I would have been dead,” Goloshchapov said.

Another miner, who refused to speak to the media, was supposed to be working at the time of the blasts but asked his fellow miner to cover for him while he went to visit his daughter at kindergarten, instead.

The worker is said to have burst into tears when he heard the news. Everyone on his team was trapped in the coal mine. The fate of the miner who covered for him is still unknown.