Saturday marked the beginning of funerals for at least 41 miners killed in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey, as officials increased the death toll.
In the village of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, families had waited all night in the freezing cold outside the mine of the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise. On Friday evening, 110 miners were working several hundred meters below ground when an explosion occurred.
On Saturday at noon, their wait became a devastation. At the funeral of miner Selcuk Ayvaz, whose coffin was draped in the red and white flag of Turkey, women wept.
On October 15, 2022, relatives of missing miners assemble in front of the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in Amasra, the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, Turkey. Khalil Hamra/AP
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came on the scene and reported that the body of a missing miner had been located, confirming that 41 miners had perished. Erdogan was surrounded by government officials, miners, and rescuers as he vowed to end mining disasters.
Erdogan stated, “We don’t want to see shortcomings or unwarranted risks,” and warned that an inquiry would identify those responsible for the explosion.
Eleven were injured and hospitalized, with five in critical condition, while 58 others escaped the mine unscathed or were evacuated without incident.
Minister of Energy Fatih Donmez stated that rescue efforts were nearly complete. Previously, he had stated that a fire was raging in an area where more than a dozen stranded miners were located. He reported that efforts to isolate and extinguish the fire persisted.
Donmez said tonight that preliminary studies suggested that the explosion was likely caused by firedamp, which refers to combustible gases common in coal mines. The explosion was being investigated by three prosecutors.
On October 15, 2022, rescue workers and family members assemble following a firedamp explosion at the mining quarry of the Turkish Hard Coal Institution Amasra Enterprise Directorate. Getty Pictures Europe
A miner who works the day shift reported hearing the news and rushing to the rescue site.
40-year-old Celal Kara remarked, “We witnessed a horrifying scene that cannot be explained; it’s tragic.” Kara, a 14-year miner, told The Associated Press as he emerged from the mine with a soot-covered face, “They’re all my pals… they all had aspirations.”
On-site ambulances were on standby. Rescue teams, including those from adjacent provinces, have been despatched to the area, according to Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD. The entrance of the mine, which was surrounded by woodlands, was billowing with black smoke.
A TTK mining technician told NTV that his team of rescue and occupational safety personnel arrived at the site late on Friday. Ismail Cetin reported that they descended into the mine and traveled around 2.2 kilometers (1.2 miles) with their equipment and stretchers. He referred to the nine recovered bodies as “mine martyrs.”
Countries from around the world extended condolences to Turkey. Even though relations between the two countries have been particularly heated as of late, the Greek prime minister has offered aid.
Separately, Turkish police issued a statement indicating that legal action would be taken against 12 individuals who allegedly published provocative content about the mine explosion on social media to stir hatred.
In 2014, 301 miners perished when a fire broke out within a coal mine in the town of Soma, located in the western region of Turkey. Five months later, a coal mine flood in central Karaman province claimed the lives of 18 miners.
The head of DISK, a left-leaning labor union, issued a statement expressing “sadness and anger” over unnecessary deaths and the disregard of the union’s safety recommendations. Despite the fact that further inspections were enforced after the Soma catastrophe, DISK’s leader Arzu Cerkezoglu said that certain safety safeguards were disregarded for the sake of profit, describing Friday’s explosion as a “massacre.”