The death toll in the coalmine blast in eastern Ukraine on Sunday has climbed to 88, with 12 others still missing, Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
"Eighty-eight bodies have been found and the fate of 12 other miners remains unclear," the statement said.
"There have 31 injured miners in hospitals, one of whom is in a very serious condition with burns. Others are diagnosed with gas poisoning," added the ministry.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree, declaring Nov. 20 a national day of mourning for those who were killed in the blast, which has become the country's most deadly mine accident since 1991.
The methane explosion occurred at the Zasyadka mine in the Donetsk region at a depth of more than 1,000 meters at 3:11 a.m. local time (0111 GMT) on Nov. 18. The Donetsk region is about 640 km southeast of the capital, Kiev.
The Zasyadko mine, one of Ukraine's largest coalmines, produces up to 10, 000 tons of coal every day. Several deadly accidents, however, have taken place at the mine, claiming more than 100 lives in recent years.
Before the explosion on Nov. 18, Ukraine's most deadly mine accident was in March 2000, when 80 miners were killed in an explosion at the Barakov coalmine in the eastern region of Luhansk.
Source:Xinhua
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