The final missing miner’s body was discovered by rescuers on Saturday in a coal mine in northern Türkiye, bringing the total number of fatalities from the methane explosion the day before to 41.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the announcement shortly after he arrived at the scene on Saturday afternoon near the small coal mining town of Amasra on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast. Finding the miners in the gallery was our top objective. Finally, we got to the last one. He said that he also passed away, increasing the death toll to 41, and putting a halt to the rescue efforts more than 20 hours after the catastrophic blast.
Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister, had earlier claimed that 58 miners had escaped the explosion “either by themselves or thanks to rescuers.” He said that the explosion had injured 28 individuals. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on his Twitter account about the incident, saying that he conveys his profound condolences for the loss of priceless lives in a coal mine explosion in Türkiye’s Bartin region. We are praying and thinking of the Turkish people and the bereaved families. May the earliest rescue efforts reach those who are still trapped.
I express our profound sadness at the loss of precious lives in an explosion at a coal mine in Turkey’s Bartin province. Our thoughts & prayers are with the bereaved families & the Turkish people. May those still trapped are rescued at the earliest.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) October 15, 2022
The explosion was blamed by the mining employees’ union on a buildup of methane gas. Officials, however, stated that it was too soon to determine the accident’s exact cause. Rescuers sent in more support from neighboring villages to assist with the search and rescue. The miners who had climbed out were given oxygen by paramedics, who then rushed them to the closest hospitals, as seen on television. The local governor reported that a group of more than 70 rescuers had succeeded in getting to a location 250 meters below the surface of the pit.
Massive operation to rescue trapped miners from a coal mine in the northern Turkish town of Amasra is under way. TRT World's Ali Mustafa has more pic.twitter.com/wqIynUA42O
— TRT World (@trtworld) October 15, 2022
The representative for Iran’s foreign ministry, Nasser Kanani, expressed “divine pity” for the victims and their families and wished for quick healing for the injured miners. The “friendly and fraternal” Turkish country and government, as well as the families of those who died, received his condolences. Roberto Alvarez, the foreign minister of the Dominican Republic, posted a message on Twitter expressing grief over the tragic tragedy and expressing his country’s sympathy with Türkiye’s people and administration. According to a statement from the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, our sympathies and condolences are with the distraught families of the fallen miners in the unfortunate tragedy in Bartin province, Turkey. We hope the injured person recovers quickly.
The victims of the mine explosion received “heartfelt condolences” from the Bolivian Foreign Ministry. It also expresses sympathy and wishes for a quick recovery for those hurt in this unfortunate disaster. Najla Mangoush, the foreign minister of Libya, also called Mevlut Cavusoglu, the foreign minister of Turkey, to express her sympathies. Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, also expressed his sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who perished in the mine explosion in a message to Erdogan. He also wished for the wounded to recover. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, posted a message in Turkish on Twitter that said, He discovered with extreme grief that a mining explosion occurred in the Amasra region of Bartin. He sends my condolences to the families and relatives of those who lost their lives and hopes for a rapid recovery of the injured.
