An explosion and fire in Turkey's coal mine Tuesday, killed at least 200 hundred with several still feared trapped underground.
The deadly explosion happened just after 3 p.m. local time in the town of Soma, around 120 km (75 miles) northeast of the Aegean coastal city of Izmir. A massive rescue operation has been launched.
The fateful incident occurred during shift change, which might increase the number of casualties. Turkey's disaster management agency said more than 200 miners could be trapped inside, Reuters reports.
According to the latest updates, the death toll has reached 205, reports Hurriyet Daily News.
Dogan News Agency identified a 15-year-old miner, Kemal Yidiz, to be one of the 200 dead.
Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 people were inside the coal mine at the time of the explosion. Around 363 of them have been rescued so far and 80 are injured. Four miners are in critical a condition, he said, reports the Associated Press. Yildiz said that fire still blazed in the mine even 18 hours after the blast.
SOMA Komur Isletmeleri A.S. that owns the mine confirmed that a large number of miners were killed. It said the accident happened despite the "highest safety measures and constant controls" and added that an investigation was being launched. "Our main priority is to get our workers out so that they may be reunited with their loved ones," the company said in a statement.
According to the officials, the incident occurred due to fire in a power distribution unit. Yildiz said most of the deaths were due to carbon monoxide poisoning. "Time is working against us," Yildiz added. Nearly 400 rescuers were deployed in the operation.
Yildiz said some workers were 420 meters (460 yards) deep inside the mine. "We are worried that this death toll will rise ... I have to say that our hopes are dimming in terms of the rescue efforts," he said, reports The Guardian.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, postponed his visit to Albania scheduled for Wednesday. He will be visiting the disaster site later today.
Relatives seek information
Hundreds of relatives of the miners gathered outside the mine and the hospital seeking information of their loved ones. NTV television said people cheered as rescued workers arrived in ambulances.
Some women sat at the entrance of the mine wailing about their lost ones. Police set up fences and guards around Soma state hospital to keep the crowds away.
Government ignored warnings
Hurriyet Daily News commenter Murat Yetkin noted that Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) rejected a request by the opposition for parliamentary investigation in the safety of Soma mines just a fortnight ago.
The Republican People's Party (CHP), main opposition, demanded the probe saying that there were reports of constant mine accidents. Özgür Özel, the deputy of Manisa (the province where Soma is located), said that the death tolls in previous accidents served as warning for bigger accidents.
However, the demand was rejected. Muzaffer Yurttaş, an AK Parti MP from Manisa, said some of the mines were safer than those in other countries around the world. This was done despite the fact that Turkey is one of the countries with most mine accidents. He had further stated that "even a nose bleed" could not happen.
Turkey's worst mining disaster was in 1992 when a gas explosion left 263 workers dead near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak.
Three days of mourning announced
Today's Zaman, an English daily of Turkey, reports in Twitter feed that Edrogan announced three days of national mourning. Flags will be half-mast.
