The government of Serbia has declared a day of mourning following the death of 29 miners in an explosion at a coal-mine at Soko Banja in the south-east of the country.

A further 19 men were injured while another 28 were brought to the surface unhurt a few hours after the blast.

An investigation is underway to discover the cause of the explosion, although initial reports said it was due to a build-up of methane gas.

The BBC Belgrade correspondent says mining accidents in southern Serbia are not unusual and that the region is poor, with little hope of receiving the necessary investment to improve safety standards.

An explosion killed 15 people in the same Soko mine in 1974, and five died in a methane gas explosion there the following year.

In 1989 dozens of miners were killed under similar circumstances.

Serbia's economy is extremely weak following years of sanctions imposed because of the country's role in the wars in Bosnia and Croatia.

There is little hope that the necessary investment will be made to improve the standards of mine safety in the country.

Many local people are dependent on the mines for their existence.

Coal combustion is the main source of electricity in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The mines of Soko produced 154,000 tonnes of coal last year.
 

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