Rescuers made contact with the 21 men on Monday. Two others have already made it out of the mine alive.

 

But the race to reach another 14 still trapped underground continues, amid fears that the mine, in the eastern Donetsk region, may soon be flooded.

 

There are unconfirmed reports that one of the 14 has been found, and is dead.

 

Explosions are frequent in Ukraine's mines. Three blasts in the region late last year killed more than 100 men.

 

 

The Karl Marx mine in Yenakiyevo, 60km (37 miles) north-east of the regional capital Donetsk, had officially been closed because of safety fears.

 

The miners were carrying out safety improvements when the latest explosion occurred.

 

The rescuers found the first two survivors at 750m (2,460 feet). They were not able to reach them until 24 hours after the accident.

 

There were unconfirmed reports that a third miner had been located in the same area, but showed no signs of life.

 

The other 34 miners were thought to be located much deeper, at 1,000m.

 

Ukrainian safety officials said rescue teams sent down a shaft had found 21 survivors, and were slowly bringing them to the surface.

 

The fate of the others was unknown.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Turchinov said underground water would flood the mine within a few hours.

 

 

The blast occurred early on Sunday, 1,000m below the surface of the 110-year-old mine.

 

Five people outside the mine were reportedly injured by the blast.

 

The fact that most of the those trapped survived came as a surprise, after the leader of the independent miners' union, Mikhailo Volynets, had said: "If people were injured outside the mine, it is hard to imagine that people survived inside."

 

Families of the missing men gathered outside the complex to await news.

 

Accidents are common in Ukraine's creaking mine network. Work was suspended at 20 mines in the region following an explosion on 23 May that killed 11 people.