Saturday, October 15, 2022

UPDATES
40 killed, dozens trapped by explosion in Turkey coal mine

By Maija Ehlinger, Gul Tuysuz, Heather Chen and Eyad Kourdi, CNN
Updated 8:27 AM EDT, Sat October 15, 2022

People gather outside a coal mine after an explosion in Amasra, in Bartin Province, Turkey, on October 15, 2022.
Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images


CNN —

An explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey has killed at least 40 people and left 11 others hospitalized, state news media reported on Saturday.

The explosion took place in the Black Sea town of Amasra in Bartin province on Friday, trapping dozens beneath the rubble of the blast.

Eleven wounded workers were treated in hospitals, state news agency Anadolu said citing a statement from the country’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.

Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez said that a fire that broke out after the blast is largely under control, Anadolu reported.

Rescuers are working through the night as the death toll rises, with video footage from the scene showing miners emerging blackened and bleary-eyed.

There were 110 people in the mine at the time of the explosion, said Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who traveled to Amasra to coordinate the search and rescue operation.


Officials have not yet determined the cause of the explosion.

The blast inside the coal mine killed at least 40 people, according to state news.Khalil Hamra/AP

Emergency services worked overnight to assess the damage caused by the deadly explosion.Omer Urer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

“We are doing our best to ensure that the injured recover as soon as possible,” Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters.

“I wish God’s mercy on each of them.”

Turkey witnessed its deadliest ever coal mining disaster in 2014, when 301 people died after a blast in the western town of Soma.

The disaster fueled public anger and discontent towards the government’s response to the tragedy.


Miners trapped underground after deadly coal mine blast in Turkey


By Euronews • Updated: 14/10/2022 -

An injured or death miner is carried by rescuers after an explosion at a coal mine in Bartin, northern Turkey, on October 14 2022. - 

At least two workers were killed and 20 others injured in an explosion at a coal mine in northwestern Turkey on Friday, the country's health minister said.

Scores of workers were still stranded underground in separate sites 300 and 350 meters below sea level, as of Friday evening.

THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS, ONLY PREVETABLE INCIDENTS
The accident
occurred at 6 p.m. local time in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin.

Television images showed hundreds of people — many crying — gathering around a damaged building near the entrance to the pit.

The cause of the blast at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine remains unknown.


It is currently under investigation.

Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighbouring provinces, according to Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD.

There are conflicting numbers on the number of those trapped.

Local governor Nurtac Arslan told reporters that five people were trapped 350 metres below ground and another 44 at another location 300 meters below ground, while the mining trade union Maden-Is reported 35 people still trapped.

Eight miners had managed to crawl out of the damaged pit on their own and were now receiving medical assistance, Arslan added.

Maden Is said a build-up of methane gas was behind the blast, but other officials said it was too soon to draw conclusions over the cause of the accident.
THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS, ONLY PREVETABLE INCIDENTS

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the two fatalities on Twitter. He said 20 other people were injured but did not provide information on their condition.

In Turkey’s worst mine disaster, a total of 301 people died in 2014.



 

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