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21 Nov, 2007 08:00

Ukraine buries its dead: 89 miners mourned

Funerals are taking place in Ukraine for the victims of the mine explosion that killed at least 89 men in Donetsk. It is the third consecutive day of mourning in the city. Eleven miners remain missing, but hopes of finding them alive are fading.

Fires have yet to be extinguished at the Zasyadko coal mine.

The Ukrainian government has offered compensations to the families of the victims.

The blast – the worst in the country's post Soviet history – is blamed on a build-up of methane gas. The blast took place at a depth of 1,250 metres.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Klyuev said a report had given the mine a clean bill of health, saying “all safety measures required by the mining licence were in place.”

Work at nine other mines around the country has been suspended after the accident. after emergency inspections revealed inadequate safety measures.

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