ANKARA, Oct 16 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Death toll in an underground coal mine explosion, in northern Türkiye, rose to 41, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said yesterday, in the Bartin province, where the blast took place a day earlier.
The explosion occurred 300 metres below ground at 6:15 p.m. local time (1515 GMT), on Friday, at the Amasra Hard Coal Enterprise, trapping 110 workers, 58 of whom later managed to get out on their own, and 11 others were injured and hospitalised, officials said.
Arriving at the scene in the town of Amasra, Erdogan vowed to “exert our best effort” to put the history of mining accidents to an end.
He told reporters that, administrative and judicial authorities will investigate the incident to reveal what caused the explosion and who, if anyone, is responsible.
Preliminary findings indicated that the blast was likely caused by firedamp, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Fatih Donmez.
In 2014, as many as 301 people died in Türkiye’s worst mine disaster in a fire, inside a coal mine in Soma town of western Manisa province.– NNN-XINHUA
