Death toll rises in mine explosion
Rescuers battled a raging fire and a rock slide in search of 20 trapped coal miners, and the death toll rose to at least 80 from a powerful methane blast in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Dozens of weeping relatives waited at Zasyadko mine headquarters for word on the fates of their loved ones. Cries and sobs broke out as officials called out names of miners found dead. Some people fainted.
About 360 miners scrambled to the surface after Sunday’s blast, which occurred at a depth of about 3,300 feet.
President Viktor Yushchenko ordered a government commission to investigate the accident and called for an overhaul of the coal mining sector.
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