Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Sweilo revealed that the number of victims of a coal mine explosion in the north of Bertin region increased to 28 people from a partial collapse of the mine on Friday.
Sweilo stated, “While the rescue teams, assisted by specialised teams, continued to rescue them, 49 workers remained trapped inside the mine at a depth of around 300 metres below the surface.”
At the explosion site, he told reporters that “between 300 and 350 metres underground, 49 people were working in the danger region.
He continued by saying that some mine workers’ rescue teams were unable to help them leave the damaged mine.
“There are those who were successful in removing them from that location. There are those who were unable to evacuate them from that area,” the Turkish Interior Minister said, according to Reuters.
It is interesting that 110 people were working in the mine when the explosion happened.
Fakhruddin Qawa, the minister of health for Turkey, announced on Twitter that 17 further people were being treated.
According to Energy Minister Fateh Dunmaz, preliminary data suggests that the explosion may have contributed to the coal mine’s methane gas ignition.
He also said that the ventilation inside the mine is working well and that there are no active flames there, but he also said that there are partial collapses there.
According to the prosecutor’s office in Partin, an inquiry has been launched to determine what caused the explosion.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, declared on Saturday that he would visit the province of Bertin.
He said on Twitter, “We hope that the number of fatalities won’t rise and that miners will be saved safely and we will put all our efforts in this direction.
It is noteworthy that the greatest mining disasters in Turkey occurred in 2014, killing 301 people in the town of Soma in the country’s western region.
28 people have already died as a result of the Bartin mine explosion in Turkey.
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