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    July 30, 2011

Ukraine Mine Blast Death Toll Reaches 18

   VOA News
   Rescuers unload equipment at Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine in
   Lugansk region, Ukraine, July 29, 2011
   Photo: AFP
   Rescuers unload equipment at Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine in
   Lugansk region, Ukraine, July 29, 2011

   Ukraine's Emergencies Ministry says the death total has reached 18 from
   Friday's explosion at a mine in the country's east.
   President Viktor Yanukovych flew to the mine in Luhansk region to meet
   with families late Friday.
   Yanukovych has called for a government commission to investigate the
   blast that initially killed 16, injured three others and left nine
   people missing.
   News reports quote regional officials as saying they believe the blast
   was caused by methane.
   Ukraine's coal mines are among the world's most dangerous, in part
   because of outdated equipment.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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