At least 2 dead, 20 hurt after blast in Turkish coal mine

ANKARA, Turkey — An explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey on Friday has left two miners dead and at least 20 injured, the Turkish health minister said.

The cause of the blast at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin was under investigation.

Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighboring provinces, Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the two fatalities on Twitter. He said 20 other people were injured but did not provide information on their condition.

Amasra’s mayor, Recai Cakir, told HaberTurk television that there were 87 workers inside the mine at the time of the blast.

There were conflicting reports on the number of people still trapped. Bartin Gov. Nurtac Arslan said 49 were waiting to be brought to the surface, while mining trade union Maden-Is reported 35 people still trapped.

Earlier, Cakir said at least six of the workers were lying “motionless” inside the mine, according to information he had received.

The private DHA news agency quoted one worker telling Gov. Arslan that he came out of the mine by his own means. He described feeling a “pressure” but said he could not see anything due to the dust and dirt.

People rushed to the mine for news of trapped friends or colleagues, DHA reported.

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 western Turkey.