At least eight miners have been killed in a methane gas explosion in a coal mine in western Ukraine's Lviv region, according to officials.

Twenty other workers were still unaccounted for after the blast in Stepovaya mine, the country's emergencies service said in an online statement on Thursday.

Thirty-four miners were at a depth of 550 metres when the explosion ripped through the mine at 12:46 local time (13:46 GMT), the statement added.

The mine, which is run by the state company Lvivvuhillja, is located 460km west of the capital, Kiev, and about 10km from the Polish border.

In a post on Facebook, Oleksandr Volynets, head of a miners' union, put the death toll at 11.

Ukrainian presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko said in a separate statement that rescue operations were ongoing.</s>A methane gas explosion killed eight miners and injured six in western Ukraine. Local authorities say there were preparations at the mine toThe deadly explosion happened on Thursday at the Stepnaya mine in the Lvov region. Eight miners are reportedly dead and six injured, some seriously, while 20 people were successfully rescued, local police say. Early reports claimed as many as 11 deaths."There were casualties, but the reports about 11 miners killed have not been confirmed," Lvov region head Oleg Sinyutka told NewsOne TV. "There are people in serious condition, medics are helping them."The blast happened at a depth of 550 meters and triggered a cave-in over one of the conveyor belts, the local emergency service said. The mine is part of Lvovugol, and has been in operation since 1978. It is rated asAccording to Sinyutka, the mine was preparing to increase output to compensate for a coal shortage in the country. Ukraine is currently in a state of emergency in the energy sector due to a lack of coal needed for electricity and central heating."Since we lost coal from eastern Ukraine, we have been preparing to boost production of Lvovugol. Whether the explosion is connected with the preparations for increasing the output or anything else is up for an investigative commission to establish," the official told 122 Ukraine TV channel.Coal had previously been supplied from rebel-held areas in the east, but over a month ago,The people behind the blockade argue that trading with the rebels is tantamount to treason. Kiev is reluctant to order a forced resolution to the crisis, and has instead called on the activists to leave, saying that otherwise the power plants would stop working and Ukraine would suffer a power shortage. In response, theAmid the crisis, the rebel authorities ordered a change of management for businesses located in their territory which had been operating under Ukrainian law to keep economic ties with partners located in Kiev-controlled parts of the country.</s>Another 20 miners are believed to be missing following the blast at the Stepnaya mine in western Ukraine's Lviv region. The local emergency service said of the 172 miners at the site, 34 were working in the shaft where the explosion happened. Methane gas is being blamed for the explosion at the mine owned by DTEK Pervomayskoye Mine Group.

Mihaylo Volinets, head of the confederation of free labour unions of Ukraine, wrote on Facebook: "There is a disaster at Stepnaya. Methane explosion. 11 dead." The mine has been operating since 1978 and is rated as highly dangerous because of the amount of methane gas in the coal mined there.

The explosion comes a day after Russian-backed rebels in the east of the country seized control of 40 factories and coal mines. Most of the seized mines are owned by a tycoon whose foundation has been the largest provider of humanitarian aid to a war-battered population. Coal production is under severe pressure in Ukraine due to a shortage after coal supplied from rebel-held areas in the east was prevented from being transported elsewhere by nationalist-leaning paramilitary fighters, supported by several legislators, imposed a blockade on railroads. Those behind the blockade claim trading with the rebels in eastern Ukraine is tantamount to treason. Kiev has called on the activists to leave otherwise Ukraine will suffer a national power shortage because power plants will stop running. The nationalists said they would take over the power plants and run them themselves, although without any coal this would be difficult. Please refresh or return for updates...</s>KIEV, March 2 (Reuters) - At least eight miners were killed in a methane gas explosion in a coal mine in western Ukraine's Lviv region on Thursday, the Ukrainian emergencies service said.

The service said 34 miners had been at a depth of 550 metres when the explosion ripped through the mine at 12.46 local time (1046 GMT).

A further six miners were injured in the blast and 20 others were being brought back to the surface unharmed, it added.

Although mine safety has improved in recent years, fatal accidents are still relatively common in Ukraine's ageing pits, most of which date from the Soviet Union.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman cancelled a planned meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in Kiev to fly to the area of the accident, the government's press service said.

Ukraine operates around 20 coal mines, while a further 60 are in Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Gareth Jones)</s>At least 11 coal miners were killed on Thursday when a methane gas blast tore through a pit in western Ukraine, the head of the coal miners’ trade union said. “A methane explosion. 11 killed,” Mykhaylo Volynets wrote on Facebook. Ukraine’s emergencies service said that 20 people were unaccounted for and that 172 miners were in the pit at the time. It added that people were buried under ground after the blast.

Rescue workers were scrambling to the site, in the western Lviv region not far from the Polish border, the emergencies ministry said. Ukraine has frequent mine accidents that claim dozens of lives each year. But this is the first major explosion reported this year. Ukraine relies heavily on coal for electricity and heat despite efforts by Western donors to weaken the former Soviet republic’s dependency on the polluting fuel.

Many of the mines are in a dilapidated condition and deemed too dangerous to operate.</s>MOSCOW (AP) - An explosion at a coal mine in western Ukraine left eight people dead Thursday, the state emergencies agency said.

The blast took place in the Stepovaya mine in the Lviv region, 460 kilometers (285 miles) west of the capital Kiev, about 550 meters (1,800 feet) underground. The agency said six miners were injured by the explosion.

Local officials in Lviv said the cause of the blast was a methane explosion.

The head of a miners' union, Oleksandr Volynets, initially said on social media that the death toll was 11, but the emergencies agency said there were eight dead.

Officials said 172 people had been in the mine at the time. They have rescued 20 miners who were initially reported as missing.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has flown to the area to overseen the probe into the explosion.</s>KIEV (Sputnik) — At least 10 people have died as a result of an explosion at the Stepnaya mine in the western Ukraine's Lviv region, Independent Trade Union of Coal Miners of Ukraine (NPGU) head Mihaylo Volinets said Thursday.

"The explosion left 10 miners killed and two severely injured," Volinets said on his Facebook page.

He added that a total of seven people were injured. Earlier in the day he said that eleven people were killed while 34 people were inside the mine at the time of the explosion.

Following the incident Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko declared all-Ukrainian mourning and ordered to carry out inspections of the country's coal mines.

The Stepnaya mine has been in operation since 1978 and is considered dangerous due to large amounts of methane in its coal deposits.</s>Since 2001, Japan, which imports nearly all of its energy needs, has invested several hundred million dollars in developing technology to tap methane hydrate reserves off its coast that are estimated to be equal to about 11 years of gas consumption.

State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) said the gas was tapped from deposits of methane hydrate, a frozen gas known as "flammable ice", near Japan's central coast.

Japan is the world's top importer of liquefied natural gas and the lure of domestic gas resources has become greater since the Fukushima nuclear crisis two years ago triggered a shake-up of the country's energy sector.

Japan's trade ministry said the production tests will continue for about two weeks, followed by analysis on how much gas was produced.

Methane is a major component of natural gas and governments including Canada, the United States, Norway and China are also looking at exploiting hydrate deposits as an alternative source of energy.

Japan used depressurization to turn methane hydrate to methane gas, a process thought by the government to be more effective than using the hot water circulation method the country had tested successfully in 2002.

In 2008, JOGMEC successfully demonstrated for the first time a nearly six-day continuous period of production of methane gas from hydrate reserves held deep in permafrost in Canada, using the depressurization method.

Methane hydrate, is formed from a mixture of methane and water under certain pressure and conditions.

A Japanese study has estimated the existence of at least 40 trillion cubic feet (1.1 trillion cubic meters) of methane hydrates in the eastern Nankai Trough off the country's Pacific coast, about 11 years of Japanese gas consumption.

Japan's LNG imports hit a record 87.3 million metric tons last year after Japan shut down most of its nuclear power plants following the Fukushima nuclear disaster two years ago.</s>Eight miners died Thursday when a methane gas explosion tore through a pit in western Ukraine, in the latest mine disaster in the ex-Soviet state.

Rescuers said they had managed to save an additional 20 miners who were trapped underground when the blast hit the mine in the western Lviv region near the border with Poland.

Ukraine's emergency ministry and prosecutors said eight miners died. The ministry said six others were hurt.

Officials said Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Energy Minister Igor Nasalyk immediately left for the site after hearing the news.

Ukraine has frequent mine accidents that claim dozens of lives at a time.

But this is the first major explosion reported this year.

Ukraine relies heavily on coal for electricity and heat despite efforts by Western donors to weaken the east European country's dependency on the polluting fuel.

Many of the mines are in a dilapidated condition and deemed too dangerous to operate.

The region's governor Oleg Synyutka said the mine was preparing to raise its output at the time of the blast.

Ukraine is currently experiencing a rail strike by pro-Kiev army members and their sympathisers who have halted the coal trade with the heavily industrial east.

Most of Ukraine's coal is produced in the eastern region that has been the site of a 34-month separatist conflict that has claimed at least 10,000 lives.

This means that Ukraine is now trying to boost the operations of other pits under its control -- including the one in Lviv.

"Because we have stopped receiving coal from the east of Ukraine, we were preparing to increase the production output of the Lvovugol mines," Synyutka said in televised remarks.

"Whether this explosion is linked to that work or not is now being checked."

Officials said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was being briefed on the situation and had declared a day of national mourning over the disaster.

The head of Ukraine's Independent Trade Unions of Coal Miners Mykhaylo Volynets said the pit "had not been modernised for years".

It operated "using outdated equipment and lacked the necessary safety means," he said.

Ukraine has other natural resources such as oil and gas.

But those are preserved deep underground or offshore in the Sea of Azov -- a region claimed by Russia when it annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March 2014.

The war meanwhile has scared off foreign investors from betting big money on Ukrainian energy projects.</s>KIEV:- Eight miners died Thursday when a methane gas explosion tore through a pit in western Ukraine, in the latest mine disaster in the ex-Soviet state. Rescuers said they had managed to save an additional 20 miners who were trapped underground when the blast hit the mine in the western Lviv region near the border with Poland. Ukraine’s emergency ministry and prosecutors said eight miners died. The ministry said six others were hurt.–AFP

Officials said Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Energy Minister Igor Nasalyk immediately left for the site after hearing the news.

Ukraine has frequent mine accidents that claim dozens of lives at a time.

But this is the first major explosion reported this year.
A methane gas explosion occurs at a coal mine in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, killing at least eight miners, with another 20 unaccounted for.