At least 41 people have been killed in a coal mine explosion in Turkey – with dozens more still trapped inside.
The state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra was rocked by the blast at around 6:45pm on Friday, with emergency services working through the night to pull trapped workers to the surface.
Some 110 people were in the mine at the time of the eruption, which the country’s energy minister said was caused by firedamp – a reference to flammable gases found at the site.
The government said 17 people have been injured, including eight who are in intensive care.
One worker made his own way out of the mine and described feeling “pressure” but was unable to see anything due to the dust and dirt, the DHA news agency reported.
Most of the workers were able to evacuate following the blast, but 49 were trapped in a higher risk area of the facility, interior minister Suleyman Soylu said.
“We are faced with a picture that we truly regret, that we regret to have to share (with the public),” Mr Soylu said.
Several rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighbouring provinces, Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, added.
Relatives and friends of the miners faced an anxious overnight wait outside the facility, with many bracing for bad news.
Rescue workers rest outside the coal mine
President cancels planned trip to deal with mine incident
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled a planned visit to the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and instead travelled to Amasra to coordinate the rescue operation himself on Saturday.
He said three prosecutors had been assigned to investigate the incident.
“Our hope is that the loss of life does not increase further, that our miners are saved,” Mr Erdogan said in a statement.
“All our efforts are geared in that direction.
“We don’t want to see deficiencies or unnecessary risks”, the president said, adding that an investigation would reveal if anyone is responsible for the blast.
Left-wing trade union, DISK, said the deaths were preventable and claimed some safety precautions had been ignored – as union leader Arzu Cerkezoglu branded the explosion a “massacre”.
President Erdogan addresses the media during a visit to the coal mine site
Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu, right, helps carry a coffin of one of the miners killed in the explosion Pic: AP
Funerals begin as rescue efforts continue
Mourners said their final goodbye to miners killed in the explosion as funerals were held on Saturday.
Mr Soylu was pictured helping to carry the coffin of Selcuk Ayvaz, whose coffin was draped in a red and white Turkish flag.
Another victim, Aziz Kose, 28, held his newborn baby just days before the tragedy claimed his life.
Most of the victims are believed to come from working class families and worked the coal mines to make a living.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, also offered rescue assistance – despite tensions with neighbouring Turkey.
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 the west of the country.
Just five months later, 18 miners perished after a coal mine flooded in central Karaman province.
