at least 40 dead after coal mine explosion

After several hours trapped more than 300 meters underground, a miner finally found the open air, Friday, October 14. He and his colleagues were victims of a firedamp explosion, an explosion caused by an influx of methane, a dreaded phenomenon in the mines. “The dust, the smoke, we couldn’t see anything”, says another miner. The survivors, often very weak, were taken to ambulances, parked between the piles of coals.

Many dead bodies were also extracted from the mine. At least 40 miners died. They were 110 in the galleries during the accident. “Unfortunately, we lost some of our friends, due to the very high pressures and temperatures that were caused by the explosion”said Fatih Donmez, Turkey’s Energy Minister. On Saturday morning, the rescue operations are almost over. Minors took part, to try to find their comrades. In 2014, in western Turkey, another accident caused the death of 301 miners.