The death toll in the Ukraine mine accident has risen to 72 miners, while 30 others are still missing, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Klyuyev said in a press conference on Monday.

Meanwhile the rescue efforts are underway, but Klyuyev told reporters that the the "The temperature has risen. But rescue work is proceeding. There are always chances for a rescue ... If we put the fire out, we will finish matters today.", he said.

The blast took place early Sunday at a depth of 1,000 meters in the Zasyadko coalmine in Donetsk, the main town of Ukraine's eastern coal-rich region. The Zasyadko mine employs some 10,000 people and produces up to 10,000 tones of coal every day.

At the time of explosion 457 miners were working underground and over 350 workers had been rescued after the accident.

Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Andry Kliuev confirmed that 26 miners have been hospitalized by now, one of them was injured seriously, and others were diagnosed with gas poisoning.

Experts think the blast might have occurred when a hole was drilled in preparation for controlled explosions and a spark ignited the highly explosive gas in the mine.

Ukrainian mines are amongst most dangerous in the world and a third of 165 mines are over 100 years old. Most mines have not been overhauled and brought up to date for decades even though the Ukrainian government has demanded increased extraction of coal.

From January to July 2007, 150 miners died in accidents and nearly 6,000 were injured, and the country's mines saw 170 fatalities during 2006. In 2002, an explosion killed 20 and 54 died in a similar explosion in 2001.

Methane gas discharges, explosions, shaft collapses, and digging machine failures - almost always aggravated with poor safety procedures - are the most common causes of the accidents.

Local prosecutors opened on Monday a criminal investigation into the mine, the news agency RIA Novosti informed, though so far they had no "concrete evidence" of any violations in health and safety procedures.

"I am grieving with all of Ukraine," President Viktor Yushchenko said in a statement.