Türkiye mine blast death toll rises to 41

A methane blast occurred in the coal mining town of Amasra on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast while 110 people were working underground

Prosecutors are launching a formal investigation into the cause of the blast, one of Türkiye’s deadliest industrial accidents in years

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Rescuers desperately searched for signs of life on October 15 after a methane blast at a coal mine in northern Turkey killed at least 28 people and trapped dozens of others hundreds of metres underground. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:45pm, 15 Oct 2022Updated: 9:01pm, 15 Oct 2022

An explosion in a coal mine in Türkiye’s northern Bartin province on Friday has killed 41 people, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, after the last missing miner was found dead, ending rescue operations more than 20 hours after the deadly explosion on Friday evening.

“58 of our miners were able to come out unharmed,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in the small coal mining town of Amasra on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast. He added that one miner has been discharged from hospital while 10 were still receiving treatment in Bartin and Istanbul.

Soylu said earlier some 110 people had been working underground when one of Türkiye’s deadliest industrial accidents in years struck on Friday at sunset.

A woman is escorted outside a coal mine after an explosion in Amasra. Some 110 people had been working underground when one of Türkiye’s deadliest industrial accidents in years struck on Friday at sunset. Photo: AFP

According to Energy Minister Fatih Donmez, “a fire erupted in one of the tunnels after the explosion”. The tunnels affected by the blast were estimated to lie 300-350 metres below ground.

Some of the miners were able to leave the mine on their own after the blast, while others were rescued.

Television images showed anxious crowds – some with tears in their eyes – congregating around a damaged white building near the entrance to the pit in search of news of their friends and loved ones.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was due to fly to the scene of the accident on Saturday.