At least 28 people were killed and several others have been trapped after an explosion took place inside a coal mine in northern Turkey on Friday. The rescue operation has been undertaken and all possible efforts were being made to bring the trapped people out from the mine.
According to details, explosion occurred at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the of Amasra. Fatih Donmez, Energy Minister said that a preliminary assessment indicated the explosion might have caused by firedamp which has claimed many lives.
The Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, said that most of the workers were able to evacuate after the explosion. Several rescue teams have been busy to bring out the people from mine, as there were many workers inside at the time of explosion.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled all of his arrangements to visit the scene of the accident. “Our hope is that loss of life will not increase further, our miners will be found alive,’’ Erdogan said in a tweet.
Scores of people were seen in the images and videos with tearful eyes, congregating around a damaged building near the entrance. Prior to this, Turkey’s Maden-Is mining workers union attributed the explosion to a build-up of methane gas, but the officials said that it was early to conclude over the cause of blast.
It may be mentioned here that more than 300 people had died in a fire inside a coal mine in the town of Soma, western Turkey during 2014.
