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No fewer than 30 people were feared dead after an explosion rocked a coal mine in the separatist stronghold of eastern Ukraine.
This was disclosed by the country’s parliament speaker, Volodymyr Groysman.
Local media reported earlier on Wednesday that dozens of miners were trapped in the Zasyadko mine of Donetsk city.
In a statement by Separatist authorities in Donetsk, the blast occurred at a depth of more than 1,000 metres and that 230 workers were in the mine at the time.
The statement said the explosion was caused by a mixture of gas and air – a common cause of industrial mining accidents.
According to the rebel officials, at least 157 miners have been evacuated from the mine.
The Zasyadko mine was the site of another accident in 2007 when more than 100 miners were killed in a methane explosion.