Illegal mines

COMM Nicholai K., a drift miner with 18 years of coal works experience, extracts coal in one of the closed coal pits in eastern Ukraine's Lugansk region, some 836 km (518 miles) east of capital Kiev Thursday, August 1, 2002. Nicholai works at a mine on week days, and on the week-ends he extracts coil independently. He can take some half of a tone of coil a day with the only equipment of a hack and a spade. He needs six tone of coil to heat his house in winters. He had to work independently some years ago because of constant lack of money since he had not been paid from the government. There are nearly 700 coal pits where individuals work. More than 20 people have been killed for the last four years at mine accidents that took place in such pits. Some 184 miners have died on the job in Ukraine since the beginning of the year. Photo by Oleg Pritykin / UNIAN