Mine blast traps dozens underground in rebel-held region of Ukraine

More than 70 workers have been trapped underground after an explosion at a coal mine in a rebel-held region of eastern Ukraine, reports say.

One miner was killed and 14 were injured at the Zasyadko mine in Donetsk while the fate of 73 others is unknown, local officials said.

A union official was quoted as saying it had been a methane blast.

Donetsk saw heavy fighting between separatist rebels and government troops over the winter but the mine union official, Mikhail Volynets, told a Ukrainian TV channel there had been no fighting in the area in recent days.

A statement issued by the pro-government administration in Donetsk region appeared to concur with information given by rebel emergency services at the scene.

At the time of the blast, 230 people were in the shaft and 157 had been brought out by 09:00 local time, it said.

Four of the injured workers were being treated for burns, it added.