(Reuters) – An explosion in a state-owned coal mine in northern Turkey’s Barten province has killed 40 people so far, Interior Minister Solu said Tuesday.
Reuters reported that 40 miners were confirmed dead, Suleyman Soylu said today. Eleven people were injured and hospitalized and another 58 managed to escape from the mine alone or were rescued. There is still a miner in the mine whose conditions are unknown.
The accident, which occurred in the coastal city of Amasra, on the Black Sea, on the evening of the 14th, was one of the deadliest occupational safety accidents in Turkey in recent years. At the time, a total of 110 people were working underground, some of whom fled themselves and some were rescued. . The television footage showed desperate relatives waiting outside the mine all night for news. Some miners were rescued one after another and taken to hospital on a stretcher.
Turkish Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said basic rescue operations have been completed and the interior of the mine is adequately ventilated, with some collapses. He mentioned earlier that the mine in which more than a dozen miners were trapped was still burning and the work to cool the fire was continuing.
Citing preliminary assessments, Don Metz said the explosion may have been caused by methane, the combustible gas found in coal mines.
Miner Celal Kara, who was on morning shift, said he rushed to the scene to attend rescue after receiving the news. “We have seen horrible, indescribable and very sad scenes”.
Cora, who worked in the mine for 14 years, had coal dust on her face. “They are all my friends … they all have dreams,” she said as she left the scene.
Ambulances were waiting outside the site and the Turkish Disaster Management and Response Agency (AFAD) said the explosion was caused by a transformer failure under the mine and that teams had been sent to the site. relief, including manpower from neighboring provinces.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will go to the crash site today.
Bartin’s provincial prosecutor’s office said an investigation into the cause of the explosion was launched. Turkish police released a statement saying they would take legal action against 12 internet users who reportedly shared provocative content about the coal mine explosion and incited hatred on social media.
Turkey suffered the deadliest ever recorded coal mine accident in 2014, when 301 miners were killed in an explosion in the western city of Soma. Central news agency (translation)
