May 7 (Reuters) -

A major coal processing plant in far northeastern Russia

halted work after a fire injured four people, the plant's owner,

Russian miner Mechel, said on Wednesday.

Mechel said in statements that work had been stopped and

staff evacuated from the plant in Neryungri in the Republic of

Sakha, also known as Yakutia, after a methane fire began in a

finished goods warehouse.

Mechel said it was yet to clarify when work at the plant,

one of the biggest in the vast and remote Yakutia region, would

resume.

In a statement on Telegram, the Yakutia emergencies ministry

said the fire had been extinguished after causing damage to

warehouses, buildings and a conveyor belt.

Mechel owns the Neryungri plant and its parent company,

Yakutugol, one of the largest coal mining companies in the Sakha

Republic. The Neryungri plant, which started operations in 1985,

has an annual capacity of nine million tons of coking coal.

More than 50 firefighters and 12 pieces of equipment were

involved in tackling the fire, Denis Gerasimenko, deputy chief

of the Neryungri Firefighting and Rescue Squad, said in a video

on the Telegram messaging app.

"The difficulty lies in the design of the building and the

presence of a flammable load," Gerasimenko said.

Several Russian Telegram news channels reported an explosion

at the plant. Reuters could not independently verify the reports

of an explosion.