A miner stands outside after an explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in Donetsk
An explosion ripped through a coal mine before dawn yesterday in war-torn eastern Ukraine, killing one miner and trapping over 30 others underground, rebel and government officials said.
The explosion took place at the Zasyadko mine in Donetsk, an eastern city under the control of separatist rebels, but rebel authorities said it was not caused by shelling.
Eastern Ukraine has been wracked by fighting between government forces and Russian-backed rebels for almost a year, during which more than 6,000 people have been killed.
The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Volodymyr Groysman, said yesterday he could confirm only one death, pedaling back on an earlier claim that 32 miners had died. It was unclear what his source for the information was, since rebel authorities do not answer to the government in Kiev.
The blast occurred at a depth of more than 1,000 meters as 230 workers were in the mine, separatist authorities in Donetsk said in a statement, adding that the explosion was caused by a mixture of gas and air — a common cause of industrial mining accidents.
Rescue operations are continuing and at least 157 workers have been evacuated from the mine, Donetsk rebel officials said.
There was no immediate way to reconcile the different numbers for miners working and missing at the time of the blast.
“For now, I can say only that 32 people are below ground. One person has died,” Ivan Prikhodko, administrative head of the Kiev district, where the affected mine is located, told Donetsk News Agency. “Until rescuers get to them, speaking about how many people have died would be unethical, to say the least.”
A rescue services representative at the mine, Yuliana Bedilo, also said only one death had been confirmed.
“Fourteen people have been sent to medical treatment centers in Donetsk,” rebel authorities said in their statement. A chief doctor at a city clinic, Emil Fistal, was quoted as saying six miners were in grave condition. Nataliya Vasilyeva, Donetsk , AP
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