Rescuers in Ukraine are working in the debris of a collapsed mine searching for 12 people still missing after a large explosion.
The 12 were believed to have been near the epicentre of Sunday morning's methane blast, about 1km below the surface of the Karl Marx mine in eastern Ukraine.
A spokeswoman for the mine safety agency said work was hampered by rising ground water due to damage to water pumps.
Earlier the rescuers brought out 24 miners and the body of one man killed in the blast, slowly raising them to the surface through narrow ventilation and cargo shafts.
Yesterday President Viktor Yushchenko reprimanded his government for its 'irresponsible' approach to the coal industry and voiced concern that the Karl Marx mine had been working despite an official shutdown for safety reasons.
29 people were hospitalised after the explosion, of whom three were in serious condition.
The injured included five people hurt by the impact of the blast on the surface above ground.
The blast and resulting inferno were so powerful that flames rose up through the mineshafts engulfing buildings at the entrance points.
The blast at the mine in Yenakiyevo, 60km east of the regional capital Donetsk, was the latest in a series of industrial accidents that have blighted Ukraine's mining industry.
The mine is one of the oldest in the country, opened in 1858.
Last November saw Ukraine's worst mining accident of the post-Soviet era, in which 101 miners were killed by an explosion at the Zasiadko mine.
Miners and their relatives have told Ukrainian media that the Karl Marx mine continued to operate at the weekend despite an official shutdown due to safety concerns.
Work had been suspended at 33 mines in the region as a result of spot checks initiated after a 23 May explosion killed 11 people.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Turchinov has promised to prosecute those responsible for the workplace violations.
