An explosion in a coal mine in northern Turkey on Friday resulted in the deaths of two people and injured 20 others, while dozens of miners remain trapped. An official reported that 14 workers have been rescued or managed to exit on their own.
At least two people have died and 20 others have been injured in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey, according to the Turkish Minister of Health on Friday, as rescue teams continue attempts to reach the dozens of workers trapped underground. The initial official toll announced by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca is expected to rise, while the regional governor Nurtac Arslan stated that around 50 people are trapped at a depth of hundreds of meters, and rescue efforts are hampered as nightfall approaches.
The cause of the explosion at the mine located in the town of Amasra in the Bartın province on the Black Sea is still under investigation. Amasra mayor Recepi Şakir told a Turkish television channel that there were 87 workers inside the mine at the time of the explosion. He added that at least 14 workers either exited the mine themselves or were rescued, with two of them injured.
According to available information, the mayor stated that six of the workers were lying "motionless" inside the mine, but he continued that he does not know whether they have died or were merely injured. Several rescue teams have been dispatched to the area, including teams from neighboring provinces.
In one of Turkey's worst mining disasters, 301 people died in a fire in a coal mine in the town of Soma in Western Turkey in 2014.
