Twenty-six miners have been injured as a result of a methane explosion in the Krasnokutska mine run by the Donbas Antratsyt state enterprise in the town of Krasny Luch, Luhansk region.
Five miners received burns of moderate severity, and 21 received minor burns, the press service of the Emergency Situations Ministry has reported.
The ministry says the blast occurred at the depth of 155 meters (510 feet) after the miners switched on an electric cable hoist.
Thursday’s blast was the third mining accident in Ukraine in less than a week.
On July 29 an explosion in a mine in the Luhansk region killed at least 26 people and injured two.
Also early on Friday, 11 miners died and four were injured at a state-owned mine in the neighbouring Donetsk region when a piece of heavy machinery collapsed.
The Luhansk disaster was the deadliest in a Ukrainian coal mine since 2007, raising concern about the industry’s safety standards.
The mine is owned by Ukraine’s richest man, steel tycoon Rinat Akhmetov.
Yanukovich ordered his government on Friday to investigate the accidents and develop a programme to ensure miners’ safety.
He published a decree on Saturday ordering state flags to fly at half mast on Sunday.
The Emergencies Ministry said the causes of the disasters had not yet been established.
The mining industry in the ex-Soviet nation is considered one of the world’s most dangerous because of outdated equipment and widespread disregard for safety regulations.
Читайте об этом на www.kyivpost.ua
