Twelve Polish coal miners killed in methane explosion

Twelve miners died Friday in a methane explosion at the Wujek-Slask coal mine in Ruda Slaska-Kochlowice, southern Poland, Edyta Tomaszewska, spokeswoman for Poland's mines authority, said.

Twelve miners died Friday in a methane explosion at the Wujek-Slask coal mine in Ruda Slaska-Kochlowice, southern Poland, Edyta Tomaszewska, spokeswoman for Poland's mines authority, said.

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"Twelve coal miners are dead and 15 are in serious condition," Tomaszewska told AFP via telephone. A total of 30 miners were hospitalised after the blast which ripped through the mine, she added.

Wujek-Slask mine spokesman Andrzej Bielecki said earlier 38 miners were underground in the area when the blast occurred 1,050 meters (nearly 3,500 feet) underground.

Twenty-nine escaped to the surface while the remainder were evacuated by mine rescue workers, Bielecki said.

The death toll could rise further as several miners sustained serious burns, he said.