8 Serbian miners dead from gas poisoning, energy minister says

Eight Serbian miners died from gas poisoning in a mine in the country's south on Friday, Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said as she visited the scene.

"There is huge grief," Mihajlovic said. She said there had been no explosion in the Soko mine and the cause would be fully investigated.

In a statement, the Mining and Energy Ministry quoted a mining company director as saying the accident happened when coal collapsed in an excavation chamber, leading to "a sudden penetration of methane into the working space."

As well as the eight killed, 18 miners were injured. Health authorities said none were in a life-threatening condition.

The so-called Aleksinac coal mining area is prone to methane saturation and 27 miners died in an explosion in the Soko mine in 1998. In November 1989, 90 miners died in a fire in another mine in the area.

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