Methane Blast Kills 13 Miners In Ukraine
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
KIEV, Ukraine — A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine early yesterday, killing 13 miners and injuring 36 others, rescuers said.
The accident was the fourth major blast to hit the Zasyadko mine in seven years, and it again focused attention on the dangers of Ukraine’s poorly funded and outdated mining industry.
An Emergency Situations spokesman, Ihor Krol, said “an unexpected eruption of a coal and gas mixture” — later identified as methane — occurred at a depth of 3,500 feet, temporarily trapping 49 miners. The blast did not trigger a fire, which officials said made it possible to save 36 of the miners who were underground at the time.
The bodies of 13 others were found, Mr. Krol said. Initially, Mr. Krol said 400 other miners who were also working in the mine at the time of the blast were evacuated. Later, he said 150 remained underground, but in a different part of the mine unaffected by the blast.
