Death toll rises to 24 in Ukrainian mine blast

The number of people killed in the Sukhodilska-Vostochnaya Mine blast in Ukraine's Luhansk Region has reached 24, the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry said on Saturday. "As of 8:30 p.m. (16:30 GMT) July 30, 24 people have died, two have been injured, and two other miners are still missing," the ministry said. The blast occurred at the Sukhodilska-Vostochnaya Mine operated by Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steel producer, on Friday at 1:57 a.m. local time (22:57 GMT Friday). The mine's overall staff amounted to 28 miners. Mining accidents are frequent in Ukraine. In 2007, more than 100 miners died in a blast at a mine near Donetsk, in the east of the former Soviet republic.