Coal mine explosion in northern Turkey leaves 40 dead, traps dozens

The death toll from an explosion inside a coal mine in Turkey’s northern Black Sea coastal province of Bartin has risen to at least 40 people.

“We have counted 40 dead in total. A total of 58 miners were able to save themselves,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday.

Tearful Energy Minister Fatih Donmez also said, “We are approaching the end of the rescue operation.”

The explosion occurred on Friday at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra.

Rescuers are desperately searching for signs of life and trying to bring dozens of others trapped hundreds of meters underground to the surface.

Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said a preliminary assessment indicated the explosion was likely caused by firedamp – a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines.

Turkey's Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) said several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighboring provinces.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also tweeted that 11 miners pulled out alive were being treated in hospital.

There were 110 people in the mine at the time of the explosion, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who traveled to Amasra to coordinate the rescue operation, told reporters.

Most of the workers were able to evacuate following the blast, but nearly 50 miners remained trapped in two separate areas between 300 and 350 meters below ground.

“We are facing a truly regretful situation,” the Turkish interior minister said.

It was not immediately clear if the rescuers would be able to come any closer to the trapped workers or what was blocking their further passage.

AFAD initially said the spark that caused the blast appeared to have come from a malfunctioning transformer.

It later withdrew that report and said methane gas had ignited for “unknown reasons.”

Earlier, Turkey’s Maden-Is mining workers’ union attributed the blast to a build-up of methane gas, but other officials said it was premature to draw conclusions about the cause of the accident.

Amasra mayor Recai Cakir said many of those who survived suffered “serious injuries.”

Television images showed hundreds of people congregating around a damaged white building near the entrance to the pit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would cancel all his other arrangements and fly to the scene of the accident on Saturday.

“Our hope is that the loss of life will not increase further, that our miners will be found alive,” Erdogan said in a tweet. “All of our efforts are aimed in this direction.”

Turkey has a history of deadly coal mine incidents. The country suffered its deadliest coal mining disaster on May 13, 2014, when a total of 301 workers died in a blast in the western town of Soma.

The incident preceded another disaster, which claimed 18 lives in the central Turkish town of Ermenek in October that year.

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