At least 41 workers were killed when a coal mine exploded in northern Turkey on Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
At 6:45 pm, an explosion occurred at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muesem Mudurlug mine in Amasra, Baltan province on the Black Sea coast, trapping 110 miners underground at the time.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday that 58 miners had escaped safely, another 10 were hospitalized and one had been discharged.
Soylu said rescue workers worked overnight to bring trapped workers to the surface.
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said rescue attempts were completed and the mine fire was largely contained, but fire containment and cooling activities were still underway.
Dommes said prosecutors were investigating the cause of the explosion, but preliminary assessments said it was likely caused by a fire dump, a reference to combustible gases found in the mine. It is shown.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a planned visit to the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and traveled to Amasra to coordinate rescue efforts.
Several rescue teams, including those from neighboring provinces, rushed to the area, according to Turkey’s disaster management agency AFAD.
“I hope no more lives will be lost and that the miners will be saved,” Erdogan said in a statement. “All our efforts are directed in that direction.”
Separately, Turkish police said in a statement that they would take legal action against 12 people who allegedly shared provocative content about mine explosions on social media.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Aldgra Fredly is a Malaysia-based freelance writer covering Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.