Seven miners were killed on Friday when an explosion caused by leaking gas tore through a coal mine located near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
One other miner was injured and taken to hospital.
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When the accident occured, 52 miners were working at a depth of 1,300m at the Skochinsky mine, according to Reuters.
Ukraine Energy Minister Yuri Prodan told parliament in the capital Kiev that there had been violations of safety regulations.
An inquiry has been formally opened by the prosecutor general’s office into the circumstances of the explosion.
A similar accident took place at the same mine in June 2010, killing two miners.
In February 2014, seven miners were killed and nine injured at another coal mine in eastern Ukraine, following a methane blast.
That incident occurred at the Pivnichna mine in Ukraine’s mineral-rich Donetsk region.
Coal mining is one of the biggest industries in eastern Ukraine and the country’s coal industry employs around 500,000 people.
More than 90% of Ukraine’s coal production comes from the Donbas region; however, the mines in this region are considered some of the most hazardous in the world.
The Skochinsky coal mine represents one of the largest coal reserves in Ukraine, having estimated reserves of 144.4mt and annual coal production of around 776,000t.
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