Violation Of Safety Regulations Before Coal Mine Explosion In Donetsk - AP Correspondent

10 March 2015 11:52

Lack of communication from separatists officials increased the sense of tragedy and confusion surrounding a recent mining explosion in the Zasyadko coal mine located in separatist—controlled Donetsk, said Nataliya Vasilyeva, a correspondent for the Associated Press.

Lack of communication from separatists officials increased the sense of tragedy and confusion surrounding a recent mining explosion in the Zasyadko coal mine located in separatist-controlled Donetsk, said Nataliya Vasilyeva, a correspondent for the Associated Press.

According to miners around the site of the accident in Zasyadko, numerous safety regulations had been violated leading up to the accident, Vasilyeva said.

The Zasyadko coal mine is owned by Yukhym Zvyahilsky, a current member of Parliament and was a leader of the former ruling political party, the Party of Regions.

The mine is one of the deadliest in Ukraine with at least seven major explosions since Ukrainian independence. The last accident occurred in 2007 and resulted in the death of over 100 workers.

Hromadske International's Ian Bateson and Nataliya Gumenyuk spoke with Vasilyeva on March 8, 2015 via Skype