At least 30 people have been left dead by a blast in the Zasyadko coal mine in Ukraine's east, in an area controlled by rebels, according to media reports.

More than 40 are thought to be trapped underground, Lentra.ru quotes a Donetsk People's Republic official as saying.

According to Vladimir Tsymbalenko, who oversees technology in the self-proclaimed "People's Republic", has described the toll as "preliminary estimates". In his words, the number of wounded is at least 14.

The website of the "Republic"'s administration has reported only one death, but more details are yet to emerge.

There were 230 workers in the mine at the time of the "explosion", the reasons for which are not yet known as of 10:40 local time.

The Zasyadko mine is among the biggest coal extraction plants in Ukraine. Many workers there still remember the explosions of 2007, when 101 people died in a first blast and a total of 52 in a second explosion a week later, five of them being members of emergency teams.

More details to follow.

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