A coal mine explosion on Friday, 14 October in Turkey’s northern Bartin province is under investigation by regulators as the most recent death toll from the blast has reached 41.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters that, of the 110 working at the operation at the time of the blast, 58 were rescued or were able to escape on their own. Eleven were injured, and as of 16 October there were still 10 hospitalised.
According to the Associated Press, the incident occurred at state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise’s (TTK) mine in Amasra. Turkish prosecutors said initial indications are that methane firedamp caused the explosion.
As of 16 October, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said the fire remaining in the mine was mostly contained, per the Reuters report, but work on isolation and cooling was still ongoing at the source area about 350 metres underground.
Per wire reports, the accident ranks with the country’s worst-ever disaster, a fire at a coal mine in Soma that killed 301 in 2014. Just five months later, 18 miners died in a mine flood in the Karaman province.