The death toll from a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey climbed to at least 28 people as rescue efforts continued after a fire burned in the mine.
The incident happened at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, on Friday evening where 110 miners were working.
Rescue efforts continued for 15 people with a majority of them in the mine’s gallery where a fire still burned, said Turkey Energy Minister Fatih Durmaz as quoted by AP.
“It’s not a huge fire, but to get there safely, the fire and carbon monoxide gas must be eliminated,” he added.
Four or five other miners were trapped in cave-ins, Durmaz added. Quoted by AP, the minister earlier said that preliminary assessments indicated that the explosion was likely caused by firedamp, which is a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines.
Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in a tweet that 28 miners were dead and 11 rescued miners were hospitalized in Bartin and Istanbul.
Turkey’s president was expected to visit Amasra on Saturday.
