New third explosion in Ukraine's coal mine kills five rescuers

Five salvage workers looking for the bodies of miners killed in Ukraine's worst mine explosion since the Soviet collapse were killed in a new explosion, officials said Monday.

Photo: New third explosion in Ukraine's coal mine kills five rescuers

The blast late Sunday was the third at the massive Zasyadko mine in the eastern city of Donetsk, where 101 miners died on Nov. 18. Marina Nikitina, a local officer with the federal industrial safety agency, said five people were killed and 66 injured in the latest incident.

On Saturday, 44 people were injured in an explosion in the same section of the mine.

The Sunday blast occurred while emergency workers were cleaning up the site of the Nov. 18 blast at a depth of over 1,000 meters (3300 feet). Ten bodies from the original blast have yet to be recovered.

Ukraine's mines are regarded as some of the world's most dangerous, partly because many are in poor repair. In addition, the country's mines typically are more than 3,000 feet deep - twice the depth of most European coal beds. High levels of methane accumulate at such depths.