Two dead in Ukraine mine accident, more missing

Jun 8, 2009, 13:17 GMT

Kiev - Two miners died and a dozen were missing in a cave-in at a Ukrainian coal mine on Monday, Ministry of Emergency Situations officials said.

The cave-in closed 12 metres of shaft more than a kilometre underground struck in a pit in the eastern Donetsk region.

A total of 37 miners thought to have been in the chamber had made their way to the surface by mid-morning, while the whereabouts of a 12 workers was still unknown.

One evacuee suffered crushing injuries but is expected to recover, according to a ministry statement.

A search was in progress and workers were digging to reach the miners possibly still alive and trapped underground.

The depth and high levels of methane gas in the area was complicating rescue work, the Interfax news agency reported.

A May cave-in at the neighbouring Novodzerzhinska mine, also in the Donetsk region, trapped miners underground for more than 72 hours before help reached them. Six died in the accident.

Ukraine's coal mines are among the world's most dangerous, with an average 300 workers dying on the job annually. The most common causes of miner deaths are methane gas explosions, tunnel collapses, and equipment failures.