BBC Sunday, 19 August, 2001, 12:41 GMT 13:41 UK Ukraine mine blast kills 22 Lack of investment has left the industry near collapse

At least 22 people are reported to have been killed and dozens missing after an explosion in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

The Donetsk state office for labour safety said 250 people were in the area of the Zasyadko mine when the blast occurred.

One-hundred-and-fifty-five people managed to get to the surface, six of them have been admitted to a burns centre, four of them in a "grave state".

The explosion is thought to have been triggered by a mix of coal dust and methane.

The Zasyadko mine was the scene of a methane gas explosion in May 1999 in which 50 miners died.

'Piles of bodies'

A miner who escaped the accident uninjured was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying he saw "piles of bodies" on his way to the surface.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma ordered an investigation into the accident and expressed hope that the missing miners would be rescued, a spokesman said.

The death rate in Ukraine's mines started rising sharply when the government, after gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, slashed subsidies to the industry.

The country's mines today are considered among the world's most dangerous.

Outdated equipment and widespread disregard for safety rules have been blamed for the accidents, which claimed 318 lives last year, and at least 120 so far this year.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2001