Three people have died and 14 are missing following a coal mine blast in a separatist eastern region of Ukraine, news agencies reported Friday.

The gas blast ripped through the mine in Yurievka village in the self-proclaimed republic of Lugansk, which broke away from Kiev in 2014 and is run by Moscow-backed rebels.

“At the moment we understand three dead have been brought to the surface. The fate of 14 others is uncertain,” local government official Yevgeny Katsavalov told the Lugansk news service.

Head of the unrecognised republic Leonid Pasechnik on Twitter called the explosion at the Skhidcarbon mine a “terrible tragedy”.

Emergency services were doing “everything necessary,” he said.

The Lugansk news agency said the mine was closed in 2014 due to the conflict between Kiev’s forces and the Russia-backed separatists but was reopened in 2018.

Most of Ukraine’s coal is produced in its eastern region, where the ongoing fighting has cost some 13,000 lives.

Kiev has tried to boost the operations of other pits under its control in the west of the country.</s>Bodies of all the 17 miners have been recovered from the collapsed Skhidkarbon coal mine in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), LPR head Leonid Pasechnik said on Saturday

LUHANSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2019) Bodies of all the 17 miners have been recovered from the collapsed Skhidkarbon coal mine in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), LPR head Leonid Pasechnik said on Saturday.

Methane exploded at the mine on Thursday. On Friday, rescue teams from the Rostov Region in Russia arrived in the LPR in order to take part in the rescue operation.

"The tragedy at the Skhidkarbon mine has taken the lives of 17 miners. Their bodies have already been recovered. I am sure that today the entire Donbas and the entire Russia empathizes with the relatives and the close people of the victims," Pasechnik wrote on Twitter.

Pasechnik declared Monday the day of mourning over the tragedy. On the day of mourning, national flags will be lowered on the LPR territory, and all entertainment programs and events will be cancelled.

Pasechnik thanked local services and the Russian rescue team for participating in the disaster management operation.

"I want to thank the headquarters and the rescue services that are taking part in the liquidation of disaster consequences for their coordinated and quick work. A special thanks to brotherly Russia for its help and support," Pasechnik added.

The Skhidkarbon mine is located in the town of Yuriyevka, around 11 miles from the center of the republic's capital, Luhansk. The production on the site was halted during years of Kiev's crackdown on the region. The operations were resumed in January 2018.</s>Three people have died and 14 are missing following a coal mine blast in a separatist eastern region of Ukraine, news agencies reported Friday.

The gas blast ripped through the mine in Yurievka village in the self-proclaimed republic of Lugansk, which broke away from Kiev in 2014 and is run by Moscow-backed rebels.

“At the moment we understand three dead have been brought to the surface. The fate of 14 others is uncertain,” local government official Yevgeny Katsavalov told the Lugansk news service.

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Head of the unrecognised republic Leonid Pasechnik on Twitter called the explosion at the Skhidcarbon mine a “terrible tragedy”.

Emergency services were doing “everything necessary,” he said.

The Lugansk news agency said the mine was closed in 2014 due to the conflict between Kiev’s forces and the Russia-backed separatists but was reopened in 2018.

Most of Ukraine’s coal is produced in its eastern region, where the ongoing fighting has cost some 13,000 lives.

Kiev has tried to boost the operations of other pits under its control in the west of the country.</s>The bodies of two miners have been recovered after an explosion rocked a coal mine in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine. Fifteen more people are missing, and survival chances appear slim.A methane explosion hit the SkhidKarbon coal mine in the village of Yurievka on Thursday, trapping 17 miners underground. The head of the Lugansk People's Republic (LNR), Leonid Pasechnik, said that the rescuers have pulled up two bodies. Fifteen people remain unaccounted for.The head of the region's emergency services, Evgeny Katsalapov,A witness reported that a total of 20 people were inside the mine at the time of the incident. A former overseer at the mine, who lives just 200 meters from the entrance, told Komsomolskaya Pravda daily that he felt a very powerful jolt and saw plumes of black smoke billowing from the mine.He said that he saw three miners climbing out of the mine shortly after the explosion ripped through it, adding that the chances of more people emerging unscathed are about zero.A mine-rescue unit of the Russian Emergencies Ministry was sent LNR to assist the local rescuers.SkhidKarbon halted its operations when the military conflict with Kiev started in 2014. The mine resumed coal output only last January, producing almost 30,000 tons of coal in 2018.</s>Search of Ukraine coal mine ends with blast death toll of 17

MOSCOW (AP) — Officials in rebel-held eastern Ukraine say the death toll from a coal mine explosion is up to 17.

The methane blast took place Thursday at the mine in the village of Yurivka, in the part of the Luhansk region controlled by separatist fighters.

On Friday, four miners were confirmed dead and 13 were listed as missing. The region's emergencies ministry said the search ended Saturday after the bodies of the missing miners were brought above ground.

Parts of the Luhansk region where the explosion happened are under the control of Russia-backed separatists who have fought Ukrainian government troops since 2014. The conflict closed the mine that year but it reopened in 2018.</s>MOSCOW (AP) — Officials in rebel-held eastern Ukraine say the death toll from a coal mine explosion is up to 17. The methane blast took place Thursday at the mine in the village of Yurivka,…

MOSCOW (AP) — Officials in rebel-held eastern Ukraine say the death toll from a coal mine explosion is up to 17.

The methane blast took place Thursday at the mine in the village of Yurivka, in the part of the Luhansk region controlled by separatist fighters.

On Friday, four miners were confirmed dead and 13 were listed as missing. The region’s emergencies ministry said the search ended Saturday after the bodies of the missing miners were brought above ground.

Parts of the Luhansk region where the explosion happened are under the control of Russia-backed separatists who have fought Ukrainian government troops since 2014. The conflict closed the mine that year but it reopened in 2018.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>KIEV: The death toll from a coal mine blast in a separatist eastern region of Ukraine rose to 17 on Saturday, rebel authorities said.

The gas blast on Thursday ripped through the mine in Yurievka village in the self-proclaimed republic of Lugansk, which broke away from Kiev in 2014 and is run by Moscow-backed rebels.

"The tragedy took the life of 17 miners," Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the unrecognised Lugansk republic, said on Twitter.

He added that the bodies of all the miners that died have been recovered.

Earlier the death toll accounted to 13, with another four people missing.

Pasechnik called the explosion at the Skhidcarbon mine a "terrible tragedy" and declared April 29 a day of mourning.

Russia’s emergency situations ministry sent mine rescuers to the separatist territory after it requested help, it said in a statement.

The Lugansk news agency said the mine was closed in 2014 due to the conflict between Kiev’s forces and the Russia-backed separatists, but was reopened in 2018.

Most of Ukraine’s coal is produced in its eastern region, where the ongoing fighting has cost some 13,000 lives.</s>The death toll from a coal mine blast in a separatist eastern region of Ukraine rose to 17 on Saturday. The bodies of all the miners that died have been recovered.

The gas blast on Thursday ripped through the mine in Yurievka village in the self-proclaimed republic of Lugansk, which broke away from Ukraine in 2014 and is run by Moscow-backed rebels.

The mine was closed in 2014 due to the conflict between Kiev’s forces and the Russia-backed separatists but was reopened in 2018.

Most of Ukraine’s coal is produced in its eastern region, where the ongoing fighting has cost some 13,000 lives.</s>MOSCOW — Officials in rebel-held eastern Ukraine say the death toll from a coal mine explosion is up to 17.

The methane blast took place Thursday at the mine in the village of Yurivka, in the part of the Luhansk region controlled by separatist fighters.

On Friday, four miners were confirmed dead and 13 were listed as missing. The region’s emergencies ministry said the search ended Saturday after the bodies of the missing miners were brought above ground.

Parts of the Luhansk region where the explosion happened are under the control of Russia-backed separatists who have fought Ukrainian government troops since 2014. The conflict closed the mine that year but it reopened in 2018.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The death toll in a mining accident in eastern Ukraine has risen to at least 13, officials say.

The fate of four other workers at the Yurivka mine is not yet known.

Initial reports indicate a methane explosion caused part of the mine to collapse.

The mine lies in Luhansk, in the disputed eastern part of Ukraine.

Luhansk and another region, Donetsk, have been controlled by pro-Russian separatist rebels following the start of a conflict with Ukrainian government forces in 2014.

Ukrainian authorities have no official access to the area. Russian emergency teams are reported to be helping with the rescue operation.
A large methane explosion at a coal mine in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine leaves 17 miners dead.