Explosion likely caused by firedamp: Minister

ANKARA

Local public prosecutors’ office in the Bartın province has started an investigation as Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said rescue efforts in the mine were complete as of Oct. 15.

Earlier, he had said that a fire was burning in an area where more than a dozen miners had been trapped.

Preliminary assessments indicated that the explosion was likely caused by firedamp, which is a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines, Dönmez said late on Oct. 15.

The local public prosecutor’s office said it was treating the incident as an accident and launching a formal investigation.

Three prosecutors were investigating the blast.

A miner who works the day shift said he saw the news and hurried to the site to help with the rescue.

“We saw a frightful scene, it cannot be described, it’s very sad,” said Celal Kara, 40. “They’re all my friends ... they all had dreams,” Kara, who has been a miner for 14 years, told The Associated Press after exiting the mine, his face covered in soot.

Around 600 workers are believed to work in the Amasra mine, which produces 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes of coal per year.