Officials: 19 killed in Ukraine mine explosion, 160 trapped

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine early Sunday, killing at least 19 miners, emergency officials said. More than 150 miners were still trapped underground and their fate was unknown. The explosion occurred at the Zasyadka mine in the Donetsk region at a depth of more than 1,000 meters at around 3 a.m.the Emergency Situations Ministry said on its Web site. The ministry also said that 297 miners have already been lifted to the surface while 160 others were still trapped underground. The Zasyadka mine is in the Donetsk region, which is about 400 miles southeast of the capital, Kiev.