Authorities have confirmed the death of five miners who were trapped under debris after a collapse at a coal mine in Manisa in western Turkey.
The collapse occurred yesterday around 2 pm local time (GMT+3) at an underground mine operated by the İmbat Madencilik company in the Soma coal basin. A total of seven workers with trapped, with two rescued shortly after the incident.
Search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of two workers during overnight operations, the Manisa Governor’s Office said. This morning, the bodies of three more workers had been recovered.
Among the rescued workers, one was discharged after treatment while the other remained hospitalized, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said
A total of 756 personnel and 76 vehicles from AFAD and other agencies joined the search and rescue efforts, said AFAD.
A judicial investigation was opened into the incident, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced.
1,042 workers lost their lives in Turkey’s mines in 10 years
Previous deaths at mines operated by the same company
Yesterday's collapse was not the first fatal incident at İmbat Madencilik operations.
In Apr 2020, three workers were killed in a collapse during maintenance and repair work in the gallery section of the company’s Soma mine. One worker was rescued with injuries.
In Feb 2015, one worker was killed in an accident at a lignite mine operated by İmbat Madencilik in the Ege Lignite Operations mining area in Soma, which is affiliated with the Turkish Coal Enterprises. (CA/VK)
