Total of 19 Miners Hospitalized After Blast at West Ukraine Coal Mine

A total of 19 miners were sent to hospitals as a result of the explosion that occurred at the Stepnaya coal mine in the western Ukrainian Lviv region, the press service of the Ukrainian cabinet said in a statement, citing Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

KIEV (Sputnik) – Earlier on Thursday, a deadly explosion hit the Stepnaya mine, killing at least 10 miners. A total of 34 people were present at the site when the blast took place.

"Following the visit to the mine, the prime minister plans to visit the injured [miners] in hospital. He noted that 19 miners had been hospitalized, four had been transported to the hospitals in Lviv," Groysman’s press service said Thursday.

Local police reported that the criminal case over the incident had already been initiated.

Following the incident Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko declared all-Ukrainian mourning and ordered to carry out inspections of the country's coal mines.

The Stepnaya mine has been in operation since 1978 and is considered dangerous due to large amounts of methane in its coal deposits.