A methane gas explosion at a mine in eastern Ukraine killed one person and injured 22 others Thursday less than a week after two accidents in the same area claimed the lives of 37 miners.
The blast occurred the Lugansk region's Krasnokutska mine at 11:40 am local time (0840 GMT) at a depth of 155 metres (500 feet) while 224 miners were working, of whom 37 were in the impact zone, the emergency situations ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the ministry had said 26 had been hurt, including five who suffered serious injuries.
Work in the mine was not interrupted.
Two separate accidents in Ukrainian mines last Friday killed 37 miners, the worst such incidents here since 2007.
A blast killed 26 miners deep in the Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine, also in Lugansk region, while at the Bazhanova mine in the neighboring Donetsk region, 11 people died after a a concrete mine headframe collapsed.
Fatal accidents are frequent in Ukrainian mines, most of which are located in the country's industrial eastern region. Many mines are underfunded and poorly equipped, while safety violations are rife.
Sapa-AFP
/sdv 08/04/11 19-53