DONETSK, Ukraine: Thirty-two miners in eastern Ukraine were missing and feared dead Wednesday following an explosion at a coal mine in the rebel-held city of Donetsk.
The blast took place at Zasyadko mine in the separatist hub of Donetsk, near the city’s war-wrecked airport.
The chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, Volodymyr Groysman, announced 32 miners killed in what he called a “terrible tragedy.”
“There are victims, currently numbering 32,” Groysman told the assembly, calling on lawmakers to observe a minute’s silence.
Mykola Volynko, head of the Miners’ Union of Donbass, which covers the eastern region, confirmed that figure.
“At the moment we know of 32 people dead. We don’t know how many people are still in the mine,” he told AFP.
But Grosyman later cast doubt on the fate of the miners, telling MPs that, “according to the latest information,” 32 miners were unaccounted for, but that only one was confirmed killed.
A spokesman for the Trade Union of Coal Miners in Ukraine told AFP that two bodies had been brought to the surface so far.
Rescue workers were trying to locate a further approximately 45 miners, said the spokesman who did not wish to be named, adding the chances of finding them alive were “practically zero.”
A spokeswoman for the ministry of emergency situations of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic told AFP there were still scores of people trapped in the shaft.
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32 die in Donetsk blast
32 die in Donetsk blast
Egypt 'won’t hesitate' to help preserve Sudan's unity
- Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says Cairo 'will not allow under any circumstances' collapse of its neighbor
- Egypt supports the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary RSF since April 2023
CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Wednesday that Cairo would take all necessary measures to preserve Sudan’s unity, as the neighboring country approaches its fourth year of war between the army and its paramilitary rivals.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
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