Nine miners were rescued from a collapsed mine on Tuesday after being trapped for several hours, according to The Associated Press.

The coal mine in Zonguldak on Turkey's Back Sea coast collapsed around 3 a.m. Rescue efforts were delayed because authorities weren't notified until hours later, Gov. Ali Kaban said.

The miners were taken out in the afternoon and were immediately hospitalized, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

It was not clear what caused the cave-in, but Kaban told Anadolu that the workers had been trapped near the mine's exit.

Back in May, 301 people died from a fire inside of a coal mine in Soma, western Turkey. As one of Turkey's worst mining experiences, it exposed poor safety standards and superficial government inspections in the country's mines, AP reported.