Coal mine explosion kills 10 in eastern Ukraine
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E-mail Xinhua, March 5, 2015
Ten people were killed and 23 others missing after an explosion happening at a coal mine in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region early Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
![Ten people were killed and 23 others missing after an explosion happening at a coal mine in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region early Wednesday. [Photo/Chinanews.com]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20150305/001aa0ba3c161661f40d0a.jpg "Ten people were killed and 23 others missing after an explosion happening at a coal mine in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region early Wednesday. [Photo/Chinanews.com]") |
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Ten people were killed and 23 others missing after an explosion happening at a coal mine in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region early Wednesday. [Photo/Chinanews.com] |
A total of 230 miners were working underground at Zasyadko mine, one of Ukraine's largest, when a large amount of methane gas was ignited 1,200 meters below the ground at around 5:30 a.m. local time (0330 GMT), causing the explosion. One hundred and eighty-one of the miners escaped the accident unhurt, while 49 went missing following the blast.
As of 5:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), rescuers recovered bodies of nine miners trapped underground after one body was found earlier. Sixteen injured miners who were previously considered missing were brought to the ground alive and sent to local hospitals, while 23 other miners remained missing, the press service of the Donetsk regional administration said in a statement.
Mykhailo Volynets, the head of Ukrainian Independent Union of Miners, wrote on his Facebook page that the rescue operations at the mine were temporarily suspended due to the risk of a new blast.
The pause of the rescue operation, which leaves little chance for the trapped miners to stay alive, was confirmed neither by the Ukrainian authorities nor by the pro-independence rebels, who control the mine.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said that his government has sent a team of rescuers to the scene of the accident, but the rebel leadership had restricted access to the mine.
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