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Turkey coal mining accident traps at least 18 workers | Turkey coal mining accident traps at least 18 workers |
(32 minutes later) | |
At least 18 workers are trapped underground after an accident at a coal mine in southern Turkey, officials say. | |
Initial reports said the mine in Ermenek, Karaman province, collapsed after a flood. The miners are stuck 300 metres (980ft) underground, officials said. | |
More than 20 workers have been rescued, Karaman Governor Murat Koca said. | More than 20 workers have been rescued, Karaman Governor Murat Koca said. |
Turkey suffered its worst ever mining disaster earlier this year, when a fire killed 301 at a mine in Soma. | Turkey suffered its worst ever mining disaster earlier this year, when a fire killed 301 at a mine in Soma. |
A mine official told Turkish media the trapped workers' chances of survival were slim unless they had managed to reach a safety gallery. | A mine official told Turkish media the trapped workers' chances of survival were slim unless they had managed to reach a safety gallery. |
Sahin Uyar also said the rescuers had yet to make contact with the miners. | Sahin Uyar also said the rescuers had yet to make contact with the miners. |
Turkey's emergency management agency, AFAD, said a broken pipe in the mine caused the flooding. | |
The Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Transport Minister Lutfi Elvan have headed to the mine to oversee the operation. | |
The deaths at Soma in May raised questions about safety standards in Turkish mines, with hundreds of miners killed since 2000. | |
Anti-government protests also followed the disaster, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, under fire for what demonstrators saw as an insensitive response to the deaths. |