At least 28 killed, dozens trapped in Turkey mine blast

Agencies | Ankara           

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

On Saturday, rescuers desperately searched for signs of life after a methane blast at a coal mine in northern Turkey killed at least 25 people and trapped dozens of others hundreds of metres underground.

Updating the death toll, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also tweeted that 11 others pulled out alive were being treated in hospital after one of Turkey's deadliest industrial accidents in years struck Friday at sunset.

“We are facing a truly regretful situation,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters, after urgently flying out to the small coal mining town of Amasra.

Soylu said that the 28 people who either managed to crawl out on their own or were saved by rescuers, had suffered various injuries, in one of Turkey’s deadliest industrial accidents in years.

“In all, 110 of our brothers were working [underground]. Some of them came out on their own, and some of them were rescued.”

He also confirmed early reports that 49 miners were still trapped in two separate areas between 300m and 350m below ground.

Television images showed anxious crowds — some with tears in their eyes — congregating around a damaged white building near the entrance to the pit in search of news for their friends and loved ones.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that 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."

Most initial information about those trapped inside was coming from workers who had managed to climb out relatively unharmed.

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

The blast occurred moments before sunset, due to which the rescue effort was impeded by the dark.

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 definitive conclusions over the cause of the accident.

Rescuers sent in reinforcements from surrounding villages to help search for signs of life.

Television images showed paramedics giving oxygen to the miners who had climbed out and then rushing them to the nearest hospitals.

The local governor said a team of more than 70 rescuers had managed to reach a point in the pit some 250 metres below.

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.

Turkey’s AFAD disaster management service said the initial spark that caused the blast appeared to have come from a malfunctioning transformer.

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

The local public prosecutor’s office said it was treating the incident as an accident and launching a formal investigation.

Turkey suffered its deadliest coal mining disaster when 301 workers died in a blast in the western Turkish town of Soma in 2014.