By Xinhua
Kiev : The death roll in a coalmine blast in eastern Ukraine has climbed to 33 while the fate of 77 others is unclear, an Ukrainian official said Sunday.
The blast, caused by a methane explosion, took place at 3:11 a.m. local time (0111 GMT) at the Zasyadko coalmine in Donetsk, the main town of Ukraine’s eastern coal-rich region.
The Ukraine’s Emergency Situations Ministry on its web site said earlier that 457 miners were working underground when the blast hit at a depth of 1,078 metres. As many as 297 miners have already been rescued and brought over ground while 160 others were still trapped.
Sunday’s blast was the second mine accident to hit the Donetsk region in as many days. A miner was killed Saturday by falling rocks in another coalmine in the region.
Last September, an explosion killed 13 miners and injured 61 at the Zasyadko coalmine.