The investigation of the case determined that mine officials had committed gross violations of safety rules during coal mining work over a long period of time

Prosecutors' statement

The director, chief engineer and mining engineer are being held in investigative custody for allegedly violating safety regulations.

One of the few survivors blamed the managers for not taking necessary safety precautions in the mine's ageing facilities.

The Ukrainian parliament has voted to provide almost $2m for repairs to the mine and to pay compensation to the victims' families.

About a dozen miners are still receiving treatment at a hospital in Donetsk for smoke inhalation.

Most of the miners who died were due to be buried on Tuesday in the town of Ukrainsk.

The cause of the accident is not known, but Ukraine's ageing coal pits have a bad safety record, and have been described by the World Bank as the world's most dangerous mines.

Experts say Ukraine's largely unprofitable mines have one of the world's highest accident rates due to poor maintenance and serious neglect of safety regulations.

Funding cuts since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 made the situation worse. An average 300 miners die each year in the industry.

Weekend tragedy

Officials said 114 miners were underground when the fire broke out early on Sunday, nearly 600 metres below ground at the Ukraina pit in Ukrainsk.

Rescue crews - who managed to bring 79 workers to safety - found almost all of the bodies in a trolley that was going down to the pit.

They are believed to have died from smoke inhalation. Four bodies were so badly burned they were unidentifiable.

Some of the relatives have accused the mine's management of sending the miners for the morning shift after the fire had broken out.