Death toll in Turkey coal mine explosion rises to 40, dozens trapped

The death toll due to a coal mine explosion in Turkey has risen to at least 40 workers, officials said on Saturday as efforts are still underway to rescue the dozens who are still trapped.

On Friday evening, an explosion occurred at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin where 110 miners worked.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday that 40 miners were confirmed dead.

Eleven of the miners were injured and hospitalised, while 58 others managed to get out of the mine on their own or were rescued unharmed.

The status of one remaining miner is unclear, Associated Press reported.

Authorities said the explosion happened at a place 300 meters below the ground, likely caused by flammable methane gas in the coal mine forming an explosive mixture with air.

“We have been in Amasra since the first minutes of the explosion that took place at the -300 elevation in the TTK Amasra Hard Coal Enterprise. We continue to work with all relevant institutions and organizations of our state with great effort,” Bartın Mayor Cemal Akın said.

Emergency response teams, ambulances, as well as friends and family of those working in the mine, rushed to the site.

Efforts are ongoing for the rescue of 15 people, the majority of whom are in the mine’s gallery where a fire still burned, according to Turkey energy minister Fatih Durmaz.

“It’s not a huge fire, but to get there safely, the fire and carbon monoxide gas must be eliminated,” he told reporters, according to Associated Press.

Workers rescued from the site are also being treated for burns and respiratory problems.

“One injured person was brought to Istanbul Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital by airplane ambulances from Bartın, and their condition was evaluated in the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center. And five injured people were treated in the Burn Center,” the health minister said.

Turkey president Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that he plans to “hopefully go to Amasra and coordinate all the work on site.”

“Our hope is that the loss of life will not increase further, that our miners will be saved safely and all our efforts are in this direction,” he said.