Officials say emergency workers recovered the bodies of three more miners killed when an explosion ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, bringing the death toll to nine.
Donetsk regional authorities said Wednesday that workers are searching for four others still missing in the Skochynskiy mine.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused the Monday morning blast that sent rocks or a mix of gas and coal spewing into the mine.
Outdated equipment and poor safety standards make Ukraine’s coal mines among the world’s most dangerous.
Officials say three miners die for every 1 million tons of coal brought to the surface.
