At least 41 staff members have died following a massive explosion at an underground mine in Turkey and rescuers are looking to succeed in dozens of trapped people.
Firefighters and medical groups are at the scene in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin following the explosion believed to have occurred through methane.
The explosion reportedly took place three hundred meters underground while another 110 people were working.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the scene on Saturday afternoon and said the body of a missing child had been beaten, confirming he had been killed.
Paramedics have been photographed appearing to perform CPR on other injured people, while other staff remain trapped at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine.
The massive underground eruption occurred at the control of Turkey’s hardcoal plant’s Amasra facility around 6:15 p. m. local time.
Emergency services, numbering nine ambulances, as well as friends and relatives of those running in the mine, rushed to the scene.
The explosion is believed to have occurred through firedamp, a term that refers to methane in coal mines.
Turkish television footage showed other people being transported to ambulances, with a body of emergency workers piling up in the area.
Health Minister Koca tweeted that other people were being treated for burns and respiratory problems.
He wrote: “An injured user was taken to Istanbul’s Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital via Bartın air ambulances, and his condition was evaluated at the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center. And five wounded were treated at the burn center. “
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said early indications were that the explosion occurred through the firedamp.
There is no burning chimney inside the mine and internal ventilation is working properly, Donmez said, adding that there were partial landslides inside the mine.
Bartin governor’s office showed emergency services were on the scene looking to rescue other people trapped underground and that the explosion occurred below the mine front at around 15:15 GMT.
AK party group deputy chairman and Bartın MP Yılmaz Tunç said: “We have not yet known the cause of the explosion.
“We hope that all our brothers have this accident, the search parties have a lot of experience.
“They went down to the quarry and continue to save our workers. At the moment, RescueArray technicians are focused on the rescue.
“Our hope is that this explosion will have a lot of impact, our personnel will lose their lives, that’s our prayer. “
The Bartın Prosecutor General’s Office has already launched an investigation.
“A partial explosion occurred around 6:15 p. m. in Amasra Hard Coal Enterprise at -300 altitude. Expressions used,” they said.
Personal news channel NTV claims several have already been pulled alive from the mine.
President Tayyip Erdogan said he would do it with Bartin on Saturday. “Our hope is that the loss of life does not accumulate further, that our miners are safely stored, and that all our efforts are in this direction,” he said on Twitter.
A total of another 301 people died in Turkey’s worst mining crisis in 2014 following a fire at a coal mine in Soma.
AFAD announced that searches and rescues from many other provinces have been sent to the city.
Last week, three other people were injured while the Aghdam District Prosecutor’s Office was investigating a mine explosion in Azerbaijan.
“Once again, we urge citizens not to deviate from designated routes, be careful and not enter dangerous areas,” he said.
Receive email updates with the most important things of the day