Rescue workers in eastern Ukraine are looking for nine miners missing after a powerful blast at a coal mine that killed at least 16 people and injured three early Friday, officials said.
Regional officials believe the blast at the Suhodilsk-Eastern mine in the eastern Luhansk region was likely caused by methane, the Luhansk regional administration said in a statement, Associated Press reported.
The mine is owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukranie’s richest man. It is a part of Akhmetov’s Krasnodonugol (Krasnodonvuhillia in Ukrainian) coal company, which is a leading coal producer in Ukranie and operates a handful of mines. In turn, Krasnodonugol is a part of Akhmetov’s Metinvest steel holding, the largest steel producer in Ukraine.
The blast hit the mine shortly before 2 a.m. Friday at a depth of 915 meters (3,000 feet) when miners were working the night shift.
Three workers were rushed to the hospital and were being treated for burns.
According to preliminary data of the branch of the State Committee for Industrial Safety, Labor Protection and Mining Supervision in Luhansk region, an explosion of methane-air mixture is a likely cause of the accident at mine.
Ukraine’s energy minister Yury Boiko went to the scene of the accident at the Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya Coal Mine, part of the Krasnodonugol mining company, to personally take charge of the rescue operation, according to the report of News24.
Senior government officials arrived at the mine early Friday and were working to establish the cause of the accident.
President Viktor Yanukovych was also expected to fly to the site later in the day, according to his office.
Most of the country’s mine disasters have been caused by build-ups of methane gas.
Deadly accidents are frequent in the Ukrainian mines, most of which are located in the country’s industrial eastern region.
Many of the mines are underfunded and poorly equipped, while safety violations are rife.
Ukraine’s coal mines are among the world’s most dangerous due to outdated equipment and poor safety standards.
On Tuesday, three workers died at another mine in the eastern part of the country when the roof collapsed.
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