More than 30 people have been killed after an explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in Donetsk, Ukraine, with at least 14 people injured.
According to reports, more than 70 personnel were working at in the mine when the explosion occurred.
The cause of the blast in the mine is yet to be known, Reuters reported.
The news agency reported head of a local mining safety service Vladimir Tsymbalenko as saying that poisonous gases that were released due to the incident were being removed to clear the way for rescue workers.
“Rescue workers have not yet come to the place of the explosion, they are removing the poisonous gas and then will go down.”
Tsymbalenko said: “According to preliminary information, more than 30 people were killed. Rescue workers have not yet come to the place of the explosion, they are removing the poisonous gas and then will go down.”
A statement issued by the pro-government administration in Donetsk region said that 230 people were in the shaft and 157 had been brought out at the time the incident took place.
Production at the Zasyadko coal mine started in 1958, making it one of the newest mines in Donbas coal region and the whole Ukraine.
In 2007, an explosion at Zasyadko is said to have killed 106 people.