Ukraine: Death toll rises to 34 in Donetsk mine tragedy

KIEV, Ukraine

One more miner succumbed to his wounds at a hospital, raising the death toll in Wednesday’s mine tragedy in eastern separatist-controlled Donetsk region to 34, an official statement said Friday.

Meanwhile, the bodies of four out of the 34 Ukrainian miners were laid to rest in Shaglovsky village Friday.

More than 200 rescuers had taken part in the search-and-rescue efforts for the miners at the Zasyadko coalmine, which opened in 1958 and produced around 144 million tons of coal in 2013.

Six major incidents have taken place at the mine in the past 15 years, which reportedly claimed the lives of 244 miners.

Aleksey Kostrubitskiy, the Donetsk People's Republic’s emergency minister, said officials were investigating the cause of the accident. Initial reports suggest a methane gas explosion was the cause of the incident.