The speaker of Ukraine's parliament says he can confirm only one death in a coal-mining accident in the war-torn east, pedaling back on an earlier claim that 32 laborers had died.
Volodymyr Groysman told lawmakers that he understood that 32 miners were still unaccounted-for, however, following an explosion in Donetsk, a city under separatist rebel control.
Rebel authorities do not answer to the government in Kiev and it was unclear where Groysman was sourcing his information.
The Donetsk People's Republic emergency situations spokeswoman said it was irresponsible to say 32 people were dead as rescuers have not reached the workers yet. Yuliana Bedilo said one person was dead, 14 others are injured and 73 remain trapped underground
She said the explosion was caused by a mixture of gas and air — a common cause of industrial mining accidents.
Bedilo was quoted as saying the incident at the Zasyadko mine in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk was not caused by shelling.
Rescue operations are ongoing at the site of the accident.
The worst mining disaster in Ukraine's history happened at the Zasyadko mine in 2007, which left more than 100 people dead.
The east of Ukraine has been wracked by fighting between government forces and Russian-backed rebels for almost a year, during which more than 6,000 people have been killed.
UPDATED 10:44 a.m. GMT to reflect new information from Volodymyr Groysman
Additional reporting by Mashable