14 DAY TRIAL // A terrible explosion has killed more than 200 people at a coal mine in western Turkey on Tuesday, and a large rescue operation has been initiated to save hundreds of miners who remained trapped underground, reports say.
The mine affected by the blast is located in Soma, in the western province of Manisa about 150 miles (241 km) south-west of Istanbul, and officials say the fire that preceded the explosion was caused by an electrical fault.
The country's energy minister Taner Yildiz says that a total of 787 people were working inside the mine at the time of the incident, which occurred two kilometers (6,500 feet) below the surface and trapped workers four kilometers (2.8 miles) from the exit, The Guardian reports.
On Wednesday morning, Yildiz traveled to Soma to oversee the rescue operation. He confirmed that the death toll rose above 200, and added that 363 coal miners had been rescued, but hundreds more were believed to be still trapped inside the mine.
He told reporters that around 400 rescuers divided in teams were struggling to rescue as many workers as possible and fresh air was being pumped into the mine shafts in Soma to help them carry out the operation. Workers from nearby mines were also brought in to help with the rescue efforts.
However, Yildiz fears that more deaths are likely as time passes due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Time is working against us. We fear that the numbers could rise further. We have to finish this (rescue operation) by dawn. I have to say that our pain, our trouble could increase,” he said, as cited by Metro.
The Turkish miner's union president, Vedat Ünal, added, “Every worker has a gas mask. Those masks provide oxygen. But we don't know how long they will last.”
Apparently, the accident occurred during a shift change, that's why it was difficult to determine how many workers were inside the privately-owned mine when the blast occurred.
This is one of the worst mining disasters in Turkish history and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared three days of national mourning following the tragedy.
This is not the first time poor safety conditions in Turkey lead to mining accidents. In May 2010, for instance, a gas explosion killed 30 miners in the same northern province. But the worst mining disaster in the country happened in 1992, when a massive gas explosion left 263 workers dead near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak.