Dozens of miners are trapped after the explosion in a coal mine in northern Turkey and the rescue operation is still ongoing. At least 22 people died.
Updated only now
According to Turkish media, the explosion occurred in the port city of Amasra, in the province of Bartin, on the Black Sea coast. The explosion occurred about 300 meters underground at around 5.15 pm Norwegian time.
The death toll is now up to 22 and 21 people have been hospitalized with injuries, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said shortly before 10:00 pm Norwegian time on Friday night. Three people were admitted to intensive care.
– God’s mercy for our brothers who have lost their lives, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a statement late Friday evening. He offers his condolences to the mourning and wishes a speedy recovery to the wounded.
At the same time, Erdogan announces that he will go to Amasra tomorrow Saturday, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Probable gas explosion
Five workers are said to be trapped about 350 meters underground, while another 44 are trapped about 300 meters underground, local governor Nurtac Arslan said earlier.
It is not clear how many people are still trapped, but at 22.45 Norwegian time it has not yet been reported that other people have been rescued.
Soylu and Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez arrived on the site on Friday evening.
Dönmez says early assessments indicate it was a gas explosion.
The Turkish miners’ union Maden believes that the explosion in the coal mine occurred due to the collection of methane gas.
According to the Turkish ministry for crisis management and preparedness, the explosion must have occurred in connection with a transformer. In a later update, it is said that the information was shared in error and that the cause was not determined.
Go out alone
Amasra mayor Recai Cakir told Haberturk TV station that there were 87 workers in the mine when the explosion occurred.
At least 14 of them were rescued or managed to get out with their own help, and two of them were injured.
One of the miners is interviewed on the spot.
– I went out alone, he says.
– There was so much dust I couldn’t see, he says.
Television images of the scene show hundreds of relatives gathered in a destroyed white building at the entrance to the mine, many with tears in their eyes.
The video of the scene shows people being transported in an ambulance on a stretcher.
The mine is owned by the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises, according to Reuters.
Condolence
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu extends his condolences to the mourners of those who have lost their lives and prays for a speedy recovery of the wounded.
– The rescue work continues without interruption. Our prayers are with Bartin, she says in a note.
According to the Turkish news agency Anadolù An investigation has been launched into the incident.
Turkey’s worst mining accident occurred in 2014, when 301 people died in a fire at a coal mine in Soma, in the western part of the country.
