Turkish coal mine explosion leaves 14 dead and 28 injured with dozens more still trapped inside after methane gas blast tears through pit along the Black Sea coast
- The explosion, said to be caused by methane gas, occurred in Amasra, Bartin
- More than 40 people could still be trapped in the mine, according to reports
- Some miners were able to escape from the mine themselves as families gather
- It has triggered a huge emergency response as casualties are rushed to hospital
An explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey on Friday has left 14 miners dead and at least 28 injured, authorities have confirmed.
The cause of the blast at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, is under investigation.
Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighboring provinces, Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the first two fatalities on Twitter, but that has now risen to 14. At least 28 other people were injured, but the condition of any of those hurt has not been announced.
Amasra’s mayor, Recai Cakir, told HaberTurk television that there were nearly 100 workers inside the mine at the time of the blast.
Emergency services have rushed to the scene, along with desperate family members, and multiple miners have been seen being lifted into ambulances on stretchers.
Paramedics were pictured appearing to perform CPR on casualties as they rushed them into waiting ambulances.
A miner is lifted into an ambulance and can be seen barefoot, and covered in mud from the horrific blast
A rescue team prepare to go underground in the mine in Amasra, Turkey
Paramedics perform CPR on one casualty as he is rushed from the scene
Emergency services have rushed to the scene, including at least nine ambulances, with multiple other vehicles in attendance too
Emergency services, local officials and friends and family of those working in the mine have all rushed to the scene
Some of the workers appear to be assisting with rescue efforts, as emergency services rely on them for information
The mine, which is in the north of Turkey, remains a hive of activity as the darkness hinders rescue efforts
A coal mine worker being rescued by search and rescue team as ambulances and firefighters conduct operation at the explosion site
There were conflicting reports on the number of people still trapped. Bartin Governor Nurtac Arslan said 49 were waiting to be brought to the surface, while mining trade union Maden-Is reported 35 people still trapped.
Earlier, Cakir said at least six of the workers were lying ‘motionless’ inside the mine, according to information he had received.
The private DHA news agency quoted one worker telling Governor Arslan that he came out of the mine by his own means. He described feeling a ‘pressure’ but said he could not see anything due to the dust and dirt.
People rushed to the mine for news of trapped friends or colleagues, DHA reported.
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.
The blast occurred moments before sunset and the rescue effort was being impeded by the dark.
Most initial information about those trapped inside was coming from workers who had managed to climb out relatively unharmed.
The Maden Is union estimated that some 100 workers were underground at the time of the blast.
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.
Turkey’s AFAD disaster management service said the initial spark that caused the blast appeared to have come from a malfunctioning transformer.
The local governor said a team of more than 70 rescuers had managed to reach a point in the pit some 250 metres below ground.
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.
The local public prosecutor’s office said it was treating the incident as an accident and launching a formal investigation.
In Turkey’s worst mine disaster, a total of 301 people died in 2014 in a fire inside a coal mine in the town of Soma, in western Turkey.
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