Four miners were killed and at least seven are missing in a methane gas explosion Friday at a coalmine in eastern Ukraine, Ria-Novosti news agency reported, according to dpa. A spokeswoman for the Ukraine's industry safety watchdog on Friday said several teams of rescuers and emergency medical personnel were working to recover the seven missing miners. Fourteen miners were working the night shift in the Krasnolimanskaya mine in the Donetsk Region where the explosion ripped through the shafts early Friday morning. The body of one miner has been found while three workers made their way out through the debris. The Soviet-era Krasnolimanskaya mine has been marked for its poor safety record. Outdated machinery, shoddy working practices and a lack of safety procedures increase the likelihood of methane gas blasts. In December two fires broke out in the mine, and four years ago an explosion there killed 37 miners. Ukrainian mines are among the world's most dangerous, with methane gas explosions common in recent years. From January to July 2007, 150 miners died in accidents and nearly 6,000 were injured.
