Pit Drama in Turkey
At least 25 miners killed, dozens buried
10/15/2022 3:11 am
Just before sunset, a devastating explosion occurs at a coal mine in the Turkish port city of Amasara. 49 miners are trapped in tunnels 300 meters underground and below. Apparently the authorities were aware of the danger.
A massive explosion at a coal mine in northern Turkey has killed at least 25 people. This was announced at night by the governor’s office of the Black Sea province of Bartin. Six injured miners were sent to Istanbul for treatment. Dozens of other miners are believed to be trapped underground at the mine in Amasara’s Black Sagar district.
Local media reported that the mine gas probably exploded about 300 meters below the Earth’s surface. About 150 people are engaged in search and rescue work. Home Minister Suleiman Soylu spoke about 49 miners trapped in two tunnels at a depth of 300 meters and 350 meters late in the evening. There were 110 people in the mine at the time of the explosion. According to the governor’s office, 36 miners were safely evacuated from the crash site. The mine is about 300 kilometers northeast of the capital, Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Twitter that he would visit the crash site on Saturday and “coordinate” the rescue efforts. The investigation into the incident has been started. The main opposition party, the social-democratic CHP, said officials had ignored a 2019 report by the Court of Auditors warning of the risk of a mine gas explosion at the mine. There have been serious mine accidents in Turkey in recent years, partly due to poor safety regulations. In 2014, a total of 301 people were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Manisa province of the Aegean region.
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