Today.Az » World news » Death toll increases in mine explosion in Turkey - UPDATED - PHOTOS
24 February 2010 [11:00] - Today.Az
Death toll increased to 17 in mine explosion in northwestern province of Balikesir.
Turkish Labor & Social Security Minister Omer Dincer said that
13 miners lost their lives in a mine explosion in northwestern province
of Balikesir, according to Anadolu news agency.
Earlier, death toll was announced as 17.
Dincer told reporters, "13 miners died when a methane gas explosion
ripped through the coal mine near the town of Dursunbey. 18 miners were
hospitalized after being injured in the explosion. Two of them are in
life-threatening condition."
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his condolences to those who lost
their beloved ones in the explosion.
After his arrival from Spain, Erdogan vowed to do everything in his power to help miners and their relatives.
Dursunbey was the site of a 2006 disaster in which 17 miners were killed, the channel also said.
The latest explosion comes two months after 19 workers died when a coal
mine near the city of Bursa collapsed after a dynamite explosion.
Mining disasters are common in Turkey. The worst disaster, at Zonguldak on the Black Sea, in 1992 killed 263 workers.
/World Bulletin/
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8:21
Yilmaz Arslan, governor of the province, said that 11 miners and an engineer died when a methane gas explosion ripped through the coal mine near the town of Dursunbey.
"Five miners lost their lives after being taken to hospital with severe burns, bringing the death toll to 17. All bodies were recovered from the mine. We called off search-and-rescue efforts. I offer my deepest condolences to those who lost their beloved ones," he added.
/Trend News/
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