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Twenty four miners rescued, 12 missing in Ukraine mine blast

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Rescue workers are continuing to search for 12 missing miners after rescuing 24 workers from a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, which was hit by an explosion Sunday, the local mine safety watchdog said Tuesday.
DONETSK, June 10 (RIA Novosti) - Rescue workers are continuing to search for 12 missing miners after rescuing 24 workers from a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, which was hit by an explosion Sunday, the local mine safety watchdog said Tuesday.

"The rescue operation is continuing," a spokesman said.

The methane blast occurred 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) underground at the Karl Marx mine in the town of Yenakiyevo in the Donetsk Region early on Sunday morning, when a total of 37 miners were working in the mine.

One miner was killed in the blast, and his body was brought out early on Tuesday. The powerful explosion shattered windows in neighboring buildings and injured four people on the surface.

Work at the mine was suspended several days before the accident following breaches in safety regulations. The miners were carrying out maintenance work to improve safety conditions when the blast occurred.

Another seven miners were killed at the state-run mine in an accident in 1999.

Ukrainian mines are considered extremely dangerous due to the use of obsolete equipment and numerous safety violations. According to press reports, nearly 5,000 miners have died in Ukraine since 1991.

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