At least 16 killed, 9 missing after blast at Ukrainian coal mine

[News_Editor]

At least 16 killed, 9 missing after blast at Ukrainian coal mine

2011-07-29 14:39:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

LUHANKS, UKRAINE (BNO NEWS) -- At least 16 miners were killed on early Friday morning when an explosion ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, officials said. Several others remain missing.

The blast happened at around 1.57 a.m. local time at the Suhodilska-Shidna mine in the town of Suhodilsk which is part of the Krasnodon district in Luhansk Oblast. It happened at a depth of about 915 meters (3000 feet).

"As of 8.30 a.m. we know about the deaths of 16 miners," a spokesperson for the country's Emergencies Ministry said, adding that a total of 28 people were at the mine when the explosion happened. "Three people are injured with burns and have been hospitalized. The fate of nine other miners is unknown."

The Ministry said eleven departments of the rescue services and the Ministry of Energy and Mines are involved in the search-and-rescue operation, which is being coordinated by the Emergencies Ministry. Yury Boiko, the country's energy minister, is also at the scene.

It was not immediately known what caused the explosion at the mine, which has been in operation since 1980 and is part of the Krasnodonugol mining company. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has ordered the creation of a government commission to investigate the cause.

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