21 die in Ukranian mining accidents

At least 21 people are now known to have died in two separate mining accidents in Ukraine.

A desperate search for survivors is underway after an elevator tower collapsed at a state-owned mine in the Donetsk region, killing four people outright.

Another four were injured and seven are missing. Winesses described the tower crumbling slowly and then caving in.

Just a few hours earlier, an explosion ripped through a mine in Lugansk. The death toll there is 17 with nine missing underground.

Rescuers hold out little hope of bringing them out alive.

The mine is owned by the richest man in Ukraine and large sums had apparently been spent over recent years to improve conditions.

But high methane concentrations mean it is still dangerous and it is thought a methane build-up prompted this explosion.

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