Coal mine explosion kills scores of workers in Black Sea town of Amasra
The coal mine explosion in the northern Turkish city of Bartın has claimed dozens of lives, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a statement shared via a social media post on Saturday.
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- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 08:45 | 14 October 2022
- Modified Date: 12:18 | 15 October 2022
The number of workers who were killed in a blast at a coal mine in northern Türkiye increased to 40, according to the Turkish interior minister on Saturday.
Süleyman Soylu said 11 wounded workers are under treatment in hospitals.
"One of our injured has been discharged," Soylu told reporters in the Amasra district of Bartın province, where dozens of miners have been trapped underground since around 6.15 p.m. local time (1515GMT) on Friday.
Noting that 58 of 110 miners were rescued, he said there is uncertainty about one of the miners, adding that while search and rescue efforts are currently underway.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez said the fire that broke out in a gallery after the mine blast is largely under control.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is closely monitoring the situation, the Turkish Presidency wrote on Twitter.
He canceled a planned trip to eastern Diyarbakır province and will instead travel Saturday to Amasra.
Erdoğan said in a tweet that search and rescue operations are progressing "rapidly" at the mine.