32 bodies found after mine blast

Rescuers found 32 bodies of miners in the Zasyadko mine in eastern Ukraine a day after a blast ripped through the shaft, a rebel official said on Thursday.

"32 bodies of dead miners of the Zasyadko mine have been found," the emergency ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said in a statement, adding that the bodies were being raised to the surface.

Efforts were still continuing to find the one miner who was still unaccounted for.

The pro-Kiev administration of the Donetsk region said 14 bodies had been pulled out of the shaft, and seven were already identified. It gave the same toll figure of 32 dead.

"The rescue operation is still ongoing so the figure may change," it said.

The Zasyadko mine is located on the outskirts of rebel hub Donetsk and lies just a few kilometers from the front line of the conflict between the separatists and Kiev's forces.

International observers have reported sporadic heavy fire in the area of the Donetsk airport nearby despite the cease-fire struck on Feb 12.

The explosion, believed to be caused by a buildup of methane gas, occurred early on Wednesday morning, when 230 miners were underground.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko late on Wednesday decreed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday, ordering the Ukrainian flag to fly at half-staff and canceling entertainment events.

Both Ukraine and Russia have offered to aid in the search for survivors but the separatist authorities claimed that they have enough people and equipment.

Igor Murygin, a 42-year-old miner being treated for burns at a hospital in Donetsk, said he was blown off his feet by the explosion.

"When I came to, there was dust everywhere. People were groaning," said Murygin, who suffered burns over 20 percent of his body.

Zasyadko mine has a history of deadly accidents, including one in November 2007 that killed 101 workers, and two more the following month that killed a total of 57.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused rebels of preventing a team of 60 Ukrainian rescuers from reaching the mine to provide assistance.

But leading rebel representative Denis Pushilin denied that Ukrainian authorities had offered any help.

AFP - AP