Miners walk out from coal mine wreckage in northern Turkish province

ZONGULDAK – Doğan News Agency

AA Photo

Two workers walked safely away from a collapsed coal mine in the northwestern province of Zonguldak yesterday.

Eray Saka and Şaban Aydınlı, who were stuck in a mining site owned by a private company in Zonguldak’s Kilimli town, were rescued four hours after the collapsed occurred at 7:30 p.m.

Saka, 34, and Aydınlı, 31, managed to escape death as they had happened to be coincidentally standing in between two segments of the mine’s ceiling that had collapsed at the front and rear of the mine. The collapse occurred when the two workers were mining 310 meters from the entrance.

A Turkish Hard Coal Authority (TTK) rescue team and the workers’ colleagues carried out a rescue operation, while Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) teams were dispatched to the mine in the event a larger rescue operation was needed.

İsmail Aşkar, the owner of the coal mine, said he was happy that the workers had been rescued in a matter of hours after the collapse.

Saka and Aydınlı were taken to hospital for health checks, while police recorded minimal information due to the lack of death or injury.