By Enyichukwu Enemanna
No fewer than 40 people have been killed in a coal mine explosion in Turkey, while dozens of others are still trapped inside.
The state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra was rocked by the blast at around 6:45pm on Friday, with emergency services working through the night to pull trapped workers to the surface.
About 110 people were in the mine at the time of the eruption, which the country’s energy minister said was caused by firedamp – a reference to flammable gases found at the site.
The government said 17 people have been injured, including eight who are in intensive care.
One worker made his own way out of the mine, and described feeling “pressure” but being unable to see anything due to the dust and dirt, the DHA news agency reported.
Most of the workers were able to evacuate following the blast, but 49 were trapped in a higher risk area of the facility, interior minister Suleyman Soylu said.
“We are faced with a picture that we truly regret, that we regret to have to share (with the public),” Mr Soylu said.
Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighbouring provinces, Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, added.
Relatives and friends of the mine employees have also gathered outside the facility as they await news of their loved ones.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced he was cancelling a planned visit to the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and would travel to Amasra instead to coordinate the rescue operation himself.
He said three prosecutors had been assigned to investigate the incident.
“Our hope is that the loss of life does not increase further, that our miners are saved,” Mr Erdogan said in a statement.
“All our efforts are geared in that direction.”
In Turkey’s worst mine disaster, a total of 301 people died in 2014 in a fire inside a coal mine in the town of Soma, in the west of the country.
