Business & Economy

Dozens dead in blast at Turkey coal mine

(Update: updates casualties, details throughout)

Madrid Desk, Oct 15 (EFE).- At least 41 people have died in an explosion at a coal mine on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday.

Search and rescue efforts in Bartin, which have been ongoing since Friday night, have concluded, he added.

Eleven miners are receiving treatment in hospital.

Energy minister Fatih Donmez said preliminary investigations show the blast was caused by an explosive mixture of flammable gasses known as firedamp, state-run Anadolu agency reported.

About 110 miners working the 4pm to midnight shift were at the mine when the explosion occurred at 6:15 pm in a gallery or shaft more than 300 meters deep, where almost half the miners were located.

In a statement, Erdogan said the country’s “judicial authorities will investigate this tragic incident, which hurt our lives and lungs, in all its dimensions, and will not leave even the slightest negligence unanswered.”

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