Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

22 dead, many trapped in Turkish coal mine blast

A view of the entrance of the mine in Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. An official says an explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey has trapped dozens of miners. At least 14 have come out alive. The cause of Friday's blast in the town of Amasra in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin was not immediately known. (IHA via AP) A view of the entrance of the mine in Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, Turkey, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. An official says an explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey has trapped dozens of miners. At least 14 have come out alive. The cause of Friday's blast in the town of Amasra in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin was not immediately known. (IHA via AP)
Share
ANKARA, Turkey -

An explosion inside a coal mine in northern Turkey killed at least 22 people, Turkey's health minister announced, while rescuers working through the night were trying to bring dozens of others trapped to the surface.

The explosion occurred 6:45 p.m. at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin.

Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said a preliminary assessment indicated the explosion was likely caused by firedamp – a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines.

There were 110 people in the mine at the time of the explosion, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who travelled to Amasra to co-ordinate the rescue operation, told reporters. Most of the workers were able to evacuate following the blast, but 49 were trapped in a higher risk area of the facility, the minister said.

Soylu would not provide a number for those still trapped, saying some among the 49 had been lifted to safety.

"We are faced with a picture that we truly regret, that we regret to have to share (with the public)," Soylu said.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter that 22 people were killed in the blast. At least 17 people were reported injured, including eight who were being treated in intensive care units.

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

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced he was cancelling a planned visit to the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and would travel to Amasra instead to co-ordinate the rescue operation.

"Our hope is that the loss of life does not increase further, that our miners are saved," Erdogan said in a statement. "All our efforts are geared in that direction."

The private DHA news agency quoted one worker as telling Bartin Gov. Nurtac 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.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

W5 INVESTIGATES

W5 INVESTIGATES Jungle crackdown: Shutting down a treacherous narco migrant pipeline

This week, Avery Haines follows migrants' harrowing journeys across the Darien Gap. Strict new rules to stem the flood of migrants through the notorious stretch of dense jungle appear to be working, but advocates fear it could backfire.

A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.