DONETSK, December 3 (RIA Novosti) - The third blast in just over two weeks ripped through the Zasyadko coal mine in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, killing five people and injuring 66, the regional administration said.
Ukraine's Mining Inspectorate said the dead men were maintenance workers attempting to isolate the site of two previous explosions from the rest of the mine.
There were reported to be 231 miners underground at the moment of the blast.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told acting prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych, who is currently at the site of the accident, that the mine should be closed immediately until the causes and circumstances of the three explosions were able to be established.
Yushchenko also urged an investigation into the actions of the officials who took the decision to resume work in the mine before the cause of the tragedy had been established.
On November 18, a blast at the Zasyadko mine took the lives of 101 miners, causing a fire which has yet to be extinguished.
A second explosion ripped through the mine on December 1, injuring more than 40 people.
Following the second blast, a government commission decided to seal off the section of the mine where the accidents had taken place.
