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Ukraine coal mine blast 'traps dozens' at Zasyadko Ukraine gas blast 'kills 30' at Zasyadko coal mine
(35 minutes later)
More than 70 workers have been trapped underground after an explosion at a coal mine in a rebel-held region of eastern Ukraine, reports say. A suspected methane gas blast at a coal mine in a rebel-held region of eastern Ukraine has killed at least 30 people, officials say.
One miner was killed and 14 were injured at the Zasyadko nine in Donetsk while the fate of 73 others is unknown, local officials said. At least 14 miners were also injured at the Zasyadko nine in Donetsk, scene of the country's worst mine disaster nearly eight years ago.
A union official was quoted as saying it had been a methane blast. Rescuers have not yet reached the site of the blast, officials said.
Reuters news agency quoted a rescue official as saying more than 30 people were killed but this is not confirmed. Donetsk saw heavy fighting between separatist rebels and government troops over the winter.
Donetsk saw heavy fighting between separatist rebels and government troops over the winter but the mine union official, Mikhail Volynets, told a Ukrainian TV channel there had been no fighting in the area in recent days. But a mine union official, Mikhail Volynets, told a Ukrainian TV channel there had been no fighting in the area in recent days.
A statement issued by the pro-government administration in Donetsk region appeared to concur with information given by rebel emergency services at the scene.
At the time of the blast, 230 people were in the shaft and 157 had been brought out by 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT), it said.
Four of the injured workers were being treated for burns, it added.
Vladimir Tsymbalenko, head of the local mining safety service, was quoted by Reuters as saying: "According to preliminary information, more than 30 people were killed.Vladimir Tsymbalenko, head of the local mining safety service, was quoted by Reuters as saying: "According to preliminary information, more than 30 people were killed.
"Rescue workers have not yet come to the place of the explosion, they are removing the poisonous gas and then will go down.""Rescue workers have not yet come to the place of the explosion, they are removing the poisonous gas and then will go down."
While Ukraine's economy has significantly shrunk since the conflict began in April, many coal mines continue to operate in the conflict zone.
Before the conflict, accidents were common in the mines, where safety standards are poor.
Despite being one of the region's newer and better-equipped mines, Zasyadko suffered Ukraine's worst mining disaster in November 2007, when 101 people were killed.