The explosion has reportedly been occurred at the Stepnaya mine in Lvov region.
The local emergency service put the number of fatalities at 8, with 24 workers still unaccounted for.
“There is a disaster at Stepnaya. Methane explosion. 11 dead,” Mihaylo Volinets, the head of the confederation of free labor unions of Ukraine wrote on his Facebook page.
Breaking: Unverified reports of a Methane explosion at coal mine in western Ukraine. 11dead, according to union leader.
— Energy Voice (@EnergyVoiceNews) March 2, 2017
The local emergency service put the number of fatalities at 8, with 24 workers still unaccounted for. It added that of the 172 miners at the site, 34 worked in the shaft affected by the explosion.
The mine is part of Lvovugol, and has been in operation since 1978. It is rated as highly dangerous due to the high amounts of methane gas in the coal mined there.
