Media Wire

Dozens killed in mine blast in Turkey

At least 28 people were killed in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed on Friday. He noted that 11 others pulled out alive were being treated in hospital.

A total of 110 workers were at the mine at the time of explosion, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters at the site in Black Sea province Bartin’s Amasra district.

He also said that while 58 had been rescued, 15 miners were still trapped in two separate areas between 300 and 350 meters (roughly 1,000 to 1,150 feet) below ground.

Energy Minister Fatih Donmez stated that initial indications pointed to the explosion being caused by firedamp, a term referring to methane in coal mines, and that it took place at around 6:15 p.m. local time (1515 GMT). Though he also said the cause of the blast was not yet known for certain.

Local prosecutors added they treated the incident as an accident and launched a formal investigation.

The people who were injured were being taken to ambulances on stretchers, footage on broadcaster CNN Türk showed.

Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighboring provinces.

The local governor said a team of more than 70 rescuers had managed to reach a point in the pit some 250 meters below.

According to media reports, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a planned visit to southeast Turkey and would travel on Saturday to Amasra instead.

Turkey has a bleak record of mine accidents due to weak safety regulations. In 2014, a total of 301 people were killed in a major explosion at a coal mine in the Soma district of the Aegean province of Manisa.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Historic all-Women flight lands in Mashhad

For the first time in Iran's aviation history, a flight carrying an all-female crew and…

1 hour ago

Tehran Cyber Police shut down 40 Instagram accounts of harassers

Tehran’s Cyber Police Chief, Brigadier General Davood Moazzami Goudarzi, announced a crackdown on individuals causing…

3 hours ago

Qatar warns may stop gas shipments to EU amid Russia-Ukraine war

Doha will stop gas shipments to the EU if member states enforce new legislation on…

3 hours ago

UK armed forces struggling for recruits: Telegraph

At least 15,000 British soldiers left the country's Armed Forces between November 2023 and October…

3 hours ago

Nearly 85k Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine: Report

Journalists have identified the names of 84,761 Russian soldiers who died during the war in…

7 hours ago

US downs own warplane while bombing Yemen: Pentagon

The United States Navy has inadvertently shot down its own F/A-18 fighter jet in a…

8 hours ago