An expert board at the coal mine in east Ukraine hit by three blasts in the past two weeks leaving 106 miners dead said Monday the disaster-hit sector should be flooded, a rescue service spokesman said, according to RIA Novosti.
On November 18, a blast at the mine took the lives of 101 miners, and a second explosion ripped through the mine on December 1, injuring more than 40 people. The third blast in just over two weeks ripped through the Zasyadko mine on Sunday, killing five people and injuring 66, the regional administration said.
"Two firefighting pumps are planned to be used to flood the eastern ventilation shaft of the mine from the Kalmius River," the source said without specifying the timeframe.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko demanded earlier in the day that the mine be shut. Prosecutors have launched a criminal case, and the country`s Mining Inspectorate is currently checking other mines to prevent further incidents.
