OSCE patrol vehicle hits mine in Ukraine, one dead

KIEV (AA) – One member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was killed and two others wounded when their vehicle struck a land mine in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, according to officials.

Ukrainian Counter-Terrorism Center said the incident took place at 10:17 local time (0717GMT) near the small village of Pryshyb in Luhansk region, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

OSCE's monitoring mission in Ukraine said a patrol with six OSCE members and two armored vehicles were involved in the "serious" blast.

"As a result of this incident, one patrol member has died and two members have been taken to hospital for further examination," OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said on its Twitter account.

Ukraine has been wracked by a conflict since March 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea after an illegal independence vote.