Eight Miners Trapped In Coalmine In East Ukraine

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Eight miners are believed to be trapped beneath the rock that collapsed in a coalmine in eastern Ukraine, the regional rescue service said on Sunday.

Ukraine is among the deadliest places in the world to be a coal-miner, with 75% of its pits being officially classified as dangerous. Outdated equipment, high concentrations of methane gas and lax safety rules make them a death trap, and many miners are so poverty-stricken they disable their methane gas detectors so they will not have to stop work for safety checks.
The incident at the mine named after 50 years of the USSR in the Lugansk Region occurred late on October 28.

There has been no information about the miners' fate, the Donetsk rescue service said.

In another incident on October 28, 555 miners were urgently evacuated from a mine, also in the Lugansk Region, which had caught fire.

There were no victims in the incident, the rescue service said.

Source: RIA Novosti