Coal mine explosion - at least 14 dead, including dozens of miners

At least 14 people died in a mining accident in Turkey on Friday. Another 28 people were injured after the coal mine in the north-eastern Black Sea port city of Amasra partially collapsed after an explosion just before sunset, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. Rescue workers tried to get to dozens of miners who had been trapped by the explosion on Friday evening.

According to local governor Nurtac Arslan, five people were trapped at a depth of 350 meters and 44 others elsewhere at a depth of 300 meters. The governor said 14 workers made it out of the mine under their own steam. More than 70 rescue workers penetrated 250 meters deep into the pit. However, the rescue was complicated because of the darkness.

The Turkish miners' union attributed the explosion to a build-up of methane. According to union estimates, around 100 miners were underground at the time of the blast. The civil protection agency Afad said the explosion was apparently due to a defective transformer.

Television images showed hundreds of people gathered near the pit entrance. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent his interior and energy ministers to the scene of the accident. Local prosecutors said the incident was being treated as an accident and launched an official investigation.

In May 2014, Turkey experienced the worst mining accident in its history. 301 miners died in the accident at the mine in Soma in the west of the country. The tragedy sparked protests against the government of then Prime Minister Erdogan.