At least 11 dead in Ukraine mine blast

KIEV: An explosion in eastern Ukraine's Donbass coalfield caused by a build-up of gas killed at least 11 miners and 28 are still missing, officials said on Wednesday.   

"As of 9.30 a.m. (0630 GMT), 11 bodies have been found and 10 miners are injured," the Emergencies Ministry said in a statement.

The fate of 28 miners is still unknown.

Earlier statements said 172 miners had been evacuated from the Zasyadko mine in Donetsk, the main town in the heart of Donbass. The number of missing had varied from 10 to 39.   

Officials said the explosion was caused by a mixture of coal powder and methane.   

Accidents are frequent occurrences in Ukraine's coal mines which are plagued by a lack of cash and poor maintenance.   

In August 2001, more than 50 miners died in a blast at the the Zasyadko mine. A similar blast at the mine in July 2002 killed more than 20.   

In post-Soviet Ukraine's largest pit accident, 80 miners died in March 2000 in a coal dust explosion at a colliery near the eastern town of Luhansk.