An explosion at a coal mine in northwestern Turkey killed three miners and injured five others Friday, the Zonguldak Governor’s Office said after rescue operations ended.
The blast occurred around 10 a.m. at a privately operated mine in Gelik, in Zonguldak’s Kilimli district. The governor’s office said methane gas caused the explosion.
Rescuers recovered the body of the last miner trapped underground, raising the death toll from two to three.
Zonguldak Governor Osman Hacıbektaşoğlu had initially reported two deaths among seven miners brought out of the mine.
“Eight people were in the tunnel, seven were rescued. Unfortunately, two of our miners died after being taken to hospital,” he said.
Five others were injured, including two who suffered burns and were in serious condition, the governor added.
Judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the explosion, the governor’s office said.
Earlier this month, five people were killed in a coal mine collapse in western Turkey.
Turkey’s deadliest mining disaster occurred in the western town of Soma in 2014, when 301 miners died from carbon monoxide poisoning following an underground fire triggered by an explosion.
Miners’ testimony and technical reports later pointed to a series of basic safety violations, including the absence of adequate carbon monoxide detection systems.
After the disaster, the government introduced reforms aimed at improving safety and working conditions in the mining sector.
Agence France-Presse, with reporting from Turkish Minute
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