Nine miners were killed after a gas explosion ripped through an underground coal mine in eastern Ukraine, authorities said on earlier today.
The blast happened before dawn on Thursday at a depth of 300 metres (1,000 feet), located in the eastern city of Kirovsk, the State Emergency Service said in a statement.
Accidents are a regular feature at Ukrainian mines, most of which are located in the country´s industrial eastern region, where pro-Russian rebels now control over a dozen towns and cities.
