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Mine blast kills eight; 15 missing

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WARSAW, Poland (CNN) -- At least eight miners were killed and another 15 missing after a gas explosion in a Polish coal mine Tuesday, a government spokesman said.

Rescue workers were still looking for the missing miners, believed to be trapped about 500 feet underground, spokesman Krzysztof Majewski said. The rescue effort was complicated by mine ventilation system apparently damaged by the explosion, he said.

The accident happened about 4:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) at the mine in Ruda Slaska, in the Silesia region of southern Poland.

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski was on his way to the scene, Majewski said.

Labor unions in Poland have complained that a lack of investment and massive layoffs in recent years have resulted in falling safety standards, according to news service reports.

In 1990, 19 miners were killed and twenty injured in a gas explosion at the Halemba mine, The Associated Press reported.

Earlier this year, a miner was rescued at the mine after he spent five days underground following a gas explosion.

More than 80 miners have been killed in Poland's coal and copper mines since 2003, according to the AP.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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