Ukraine is in mourning

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma pronounced July 9th as a mourning day in Ukraine in connection with the fire that happened at “Ukraine” mine in the Donetsk region. The fire killed 35 people, and four bodies had not been identified yet. The fire is still flaming; the reasons of the ignition are not known either. Some people say that it happened either because of the production line belt or because of a cable short circuit. The state committee is investigating why the rescue team arrived only 30 minutes after the beginning of the fire and why miners wnt down in the mine even after the fire alarm.

The Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Donetsk region instituted criminal proceedings based on the violation of safety rules during dangerous works, which resulted in the loss of lives. The mentioned mine was put into operation in 1963; it was one of the worst in the country from the point of view of technical equipment.

Andrey Lubensky PRAVDA.Ru Kiev Ukraine

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov

AP photo: Miners walk past a coal pit in the town of Ukrainsk of Donetsk region