Dozens of workers trapped after blast in Turkish coal mine

Ankara: An explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey on Friday has trapped dozens of miners, officials said. At least 14 others were rescued or were able to exit the workings themselves.

The cause of the blast at the TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin was under investigation.

Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighboring provinces, Turkey's disaster management agency, AFAD, said.


Bartin Gov. Nurtac Arslan said a total of 49 people were still trapped in the mine.

Earlier, Amasra's mayor, Recai Cakir, told HaberTurk television that there were 87 workers inside at the time of the blast. At least 14 were either rescued or came out of the mine on their own, Cakir said. Two of them were injured.

According to information received, at least six of the workers were lying "motionless" inside the mine, the mayor stated, but said he did not know whether they were dead or injured.

The private DHA news agency quoted one worker telling Gov. 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.

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.