According to local governor Nurtac Arslan, 49 workers were trapped after the explosion in a coal mine in northern Turkey. At least two died and 20 injured.
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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 first official death toll arrived a couple of hours after the incident became known. So far two people have been confirmed dead and 20 injured, says Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
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.
The Turkish miners’ union Maden believes that the explosion in the coal mine occurred due to the collection of methane gas.
Five workers are said to be trapped about 350 meters underground, while another 44 are trapped about 300 meters underground, according to Arslan.
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.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez are arriving at the site.
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.
