Putin visits Siberia blast site

Prime Minister Putin saw the extent of the damage caused by the blast
Vladimir Putin has said some 50 people still missing after Monday's explosion at Russia's largest hydro-electric power plant should be considered dead.
That would bring the total number of those killed in the Sayano-Shushenskaya blast to more than 70.
Visiting the site of the blast in remote Siberia, the Russian prime minister promised victims' families 1m roubles ($30,000) each in compensation.
On Thursday, he called for a review of Russia's key strategic infrastructure.
Mr Putin compared the state of Russia's infrastructure today to that of a wartime frontline.
See graphic of stricken power station
An investigation into what caused the blast is continuing, amid claims from Chechen websites that Islamist militants were responsible.
Such claims have been rejected by Kremlin sources as "idiotic", and investigators have reportedly found no traces of explosives at the site.
Earlier reports suggested a transformer exploded during repairs, destroying three generating units and leading to the flooding of a turbine hall.
'Let's not pretend'
The plant's owner, RusHydro, has already pledged to pay 1m roubles to the families of the 26 workers who have been confirmed dead, but Mr Putin said such payments should be extended to relatives of those who were still missing.

The repair job will be huge - but still worth doing, officials say
"We can see what's happened - let's not pretend that someone doesn't know something," he said.
He promised to match the company's payouts with government compensation.
Although more than 1,000 rescue workers are still scouring the damaged turbine hall and its surrounding area for survivors, the chances that anyone could survive for four days in the near-freezing waters of the Yenisei river are slim.
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said it would take at least a week to assess the damage from the blast, adding that repairing the turbine hall alone could cost 40bn roubles ($1.3bn; £762m).
But he said it would still be worth doing the repairs, because the dam - undamaged by the blast - had accounted for 80% of the construction cost.
Billions of roubles
RusHydro said the damage would run into "billions of roubles" and take several months to repair.
Some 40 tonnes of transformer oil leaked into the river after the explosion, killing fish and raising fears of chemical pollution.
Situated some 3,000 km (1,875 miles) east of Moscow in the remote mountain region of Khakassia, the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant is expected to remain closed for some time.
One of the world's largest hydro-electric plants, its dam is 245m (800ft) high and stretches 1km (0.6 miles) across the Yenisei river.
Opened in 1978, the station provides a quarter of RusHydro output and is a major power supplier to at least two smelters owned by United Company RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer


Source: BBC