BARTIN, Turkey (Reuters) – An explosion in a coal mine in Turkey’s northern Bartin province on Friday killed 28 people, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, as rescue teams continued to search for people trapped underground.
Eleven of the 58 rescued miners were still getting treatment in hospitals, Koca also said on Twitter, but it was not clear how many people were still trapped due to the blast that occurred as 110 people were working.
Authorities said initial indications were that the blast was caused by firedamp, a term referring to methane in coal mines.
Colleagues and families of the miners were waiting at the sidelines of the scene and at hospitals where the wounded are being treated, Reuters and local media footage showed.
In 2014, 301 workers were killed in Turkey ‘s worst ever mining disaster in the western town of Soma, 350 kms (217 miles) south of Istanbul.
(Reporting by Mert Ozkan,; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
