A suspected gas blast at a coal mine in a rebel-held region of east Ukraine is believed to have killed some 30 miners, the rebels told the BBC. One is confirmed dead and 14 were injured at the Zasyadko mine, which saw Ukraine's worst mine disaster nearly eight years ago when 101 were killed.
Anxious relatives of miners have gathered at the scene to await news. There are fears the rebels lack the resources to deal with the disaster, the BBC's Tom Burridge reports.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has demanded access to the mine for government rescuers and police.
A mine union official, Mikhail Volynets, told a Ukrainian TV channel there had been no fighting in the area in recent days.
While Ukraine's economy has significantly shrunk since the conflict began in April, many coal mines continue to operate in the conflict zone.
Before the conflict, accidents were common in the mines, where safety standards are poor. Confusion surrounded the death toll in the hours after the blast, which occurred at 05:20 local time (03:20 GMT).
In the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, speaker Volodymyr Hroisman announced that 32 people had been killed and called for a minute's silence.
However, he later retracted the figure, saying instead that one person was dead and the fate of about 30 others was unknown. It is known that, at the time of the blast, 230 people were in the shaft.
About 200 have now been accounted for.
The sister of one miner who was in the pit at the time of the explosion, Alexei Novoselsky, stood at the entrance to the mine, in tears, Reuters reports.
"Tell me, are there survivors?" she asked a passing rescue worker. "Why are you concealing the truth?"
A welder at the mine, who gave his name as Oleg, said: "I've been down the pit for 23 years, and this is the fourth explosion that I can recall.
"If they didn't get them out straight away, then later they will only retrieve bodies. An explosion is a terrible thing." (BBC)
Anxious relatives of miners have gathered at the scene to await news. There are fears the rebels lack the resources to deal with the disaster, the BBC's Tom Burridge reports.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has demanded access to the mine for government rescuers and police.
A mine union official, Mikhail Volynets, told a Ukrainian TV channel there had been no fighting in the area in recent days.
While Ukraine's economy has significantly shrunk since the conflict began in April, many coal mines continue to operate in the conflict zone.
Before the conflict, accidents were common in the mines, where safety standards are poor. Confusion surrounded the death toll in the hours after the blast, which occurred at 05:20 local time (03:20 GMT).
In the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, speaker Volodymyr Hroisman announced that 32 people had been killed and called for a minute's silence.
However, he later retracted the figure, saying instead that one person was dead and the fate of about 30 others was unknown. It is known that, at the time of the blast, 230 people were in the shaft.
About 200 have now been accounted for.
The sister of one miner who was in the pit at the time of the explosion, Alexei Novoselsky, stood at the entrance to the mine, in tears, Reuters reports.
"Tell me, are there survivors?" she asked a passing rescue worker. "Why are you concealing the truth?"
A welder at the mine, who gave his name as Oleg, said: "I've been down the pit for 23 years, and this is the fourth explosion that I can recall.
"If they didn't get them out straight away, then later they will only retrieve bodies. An explosion is a terrible thing." (BBC)
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