Thirty one miners remained trapped today after a methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 69.
The blast, which happened in the early hours of yesterday, was the ex-Soviet nation's worst mining accident in seven years, emergency chiefs said.
More than 360 miners were rescued, but 35 others remained trapped inside the mine — one of Ukraine's largest and deepest — with a raging fire hampering efforts to save them.
One miner said he had to clamber over dead colleagues along the rail track and navigate through blinding dust to escape. The explosion occurred about 3,300 feet deep inside the Zasyadko mine in the regional capital, Donetsk, the heart of the country's coal mining industry, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
The accident highlighted the lack of attention to safety in a country with some of the world's most dangerous mines. President Viktor Yushchenko blamed his Cabinet for not doing enough to reform coal mining and ordered an official panel to investigate the accident and bring those responsible to account.
Local authorities declared three days of mourning for the dead miners.
Mr Yanukovych, a native of the mining region, visited the site about 450 miles south east of Kiev, pledging to help victims' families. Authorities evacuated 367 miners. Twenty-eight were taken to hospital, the ministry said.