Donetsk Miner Succumbs to His Wounds, Bringing Mine Blast Death Toll to 34

A man severely injured in the Zasyadko mine accident has succumbed to his wounds, bringing the death toll of the March 4 explosion to 34, Donetsk News Agency reports.

"One of the minors injured as a result of the accident at the mine named after Alexander Zasyadko has passed away today in the city of Donetsk…This brings the total number of deaths from the accident to 34," Donetsk News Agency reports.

The accident, believed to have been caused by a high concentration of methane gas, occurred on Wednesday morning. Rescue workers had completed their recovery of the bodies of 33 men by Thursday evening.

About 230 workers were reported to have been underground when the blast took place.

On Friday, Russia's Emergencies Ministry announced that it is preparing another humanitarian convoy for the Donetsk region, which will focus in part on assisting the families of workers killed in the deadly accident. Emercom also plans on sending an Il-76 transport aircraft with 40 tons of humanitarian aid to Rostov-on-Don, from where supplies will be loaded onto trucks and delivered to the Donetsk region.

On March 4, Donetsk authorities announced that they were launching a criminal investigation into the accident, following reports that DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko had signed a decree aimed at stopping work at the mine a month ago.

The Zasyadko mine, one of Ukraine's largest coal mines, was established in 1958, named after Alexandr Zasyadko, a former Soviet Coal Industry Minister. In 1992, the mine was privatized. The mine has witnessed a number of deadly incidents over the past 15 years, with nearly 270 reported to have died in accidents since 1999. On November 18, 2007 a methane explosion killed 101 workers, becoming the worst mining accident in the history of independent Ukraine.

Since Kiev launched its military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April, 2014, the Zasyadko mine has been repeatedly shelled, causing power outages and the evacuations of its workers. Last November, a mine worker was killed by shelling. Since the beginning of the year, the mine has been evacuated at five times. In January, 500 miners were temporarily trapped underground after shelling cut the mine's power supply.