20 miners feared dead in blast

An explosion in a northern Slovak coal mine most likely killed 20 miners in the central European country's worst mining disaster.

Rescue teams found six bodies after about 12 hours of efforts in poor visibility and high temperatures, officials said.

The rest of the missing group were also presumed dead because conditions in the shaft were not fit for survival.

The workers had been putting out a fire in the Handlova mine when the explosion occurred.