Turkey mine explosion leaves 41 dead, 11 injured

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• BBC News World

October 15, 2022, 03:56 GMT

Updated 2 hours

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image source, Cagla Gurdogan/Archyde.com

According to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 41 people have been killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Bartin province in northern Turkey.

Previously, the Minister of the Interior of that country, Suleyman Soylu, had reported that 58 miners were rescued and that 10 people remained in hospital. One was discharged.

Some 110 workers They were inside the mine at the time of the explosion. Almost half of them were working more than 300 meters deep.

Family and friends of the miners gathered in the area anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.

With the recovery of the body of the person who was missing, the rescue operation ends, more than 20 hours following the explosion, which occurred on Friday.

Erdogan, who is at the mine, promised a thorough investigation to establish the cause of the explosion.

The local prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation.

“risky” area

As night fell, emergency workers were digging through the rock to try to reach more survivors.

image source, Getty Images

Videos showed miners covered in coal and teary-eyed accompanied by rescuers at the Amasra facility on the Black Sea coast.

The explosion is believed to have occurred in the depths. Some 49 people were working in a “risky” area between 300 and 350 meters below ground, according to Soylu.

“There are those who we might not evacuate from that area,” the minister told reporters.

image source, Getty Images

Caption,

Some miners were able to get out with the help of rescuers.

Turkey’s energy minister said there are indications that the explosion was caused by firedampwhich is methane that forms an explosive mixture in coal mines.

“We are facing a truly unfortunate situation,” he said. There was partial collapses inside the mineHe explained, but there were no fires and the ventilation worked properly.

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

image source, Getty Images

Caption,

Many people eagerly awaited news of their loved ones.

One worker who managed to escape on his own recounted: “There was dust and smoke and we don’t know exactly what happened.”

The mine belongs to Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises, a state-owned company.

Turkey witnessed its deadliest coal mining disaster in 2014, when 301 people died following an explosion in the western city of Soma.

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