On 14 October 2022, an

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

occurred in Amasra coal mine in

Amasra Amasra (from Greek Amastris Ἄμαστρις, ''gen''. Ἀμάστριδος) is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey, formerly known as Amastris. The town today is much appreciated for its beaches and natural setting, ...

Bartın Province Bartın Province ( tr, ), a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounds the city of Bartın. It lies to the east of Zonguldak Province. The town of Bartın contains a number of very old wooden houses in a style no longer exta ...

, Turkey, killing 42 people and injuring 27. It was one of the deadliest industrial incidents in Turkey.

Explosion

The explosion occurred at 6:30 p.m. Turkish time, at a depth of about 300 metres. At the time of the incident, around 110 people were working in the mine and almost half of them were below deep. Some reports stated that five people were working under and 44 people were working under . Minister of the Interior

Süleyman Soylu Süleyman Soylu (; born 21 November 1969) is a Turkish politician. He is a deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party who currently serves as the Minister of the Interior since 31 August 2016. He previously served as the Minister of L ...

said that more than 22 people had died and 28 people crawled out on their own. Minister of Health

Fahrettin Koca Fahrettin Koca (born 2 January 1965) is a Turkish physician and politician. He is the List of Ministers of Health of Turkey, minister of health of the Cabinet Erdoğan IV, 66th government of Turkey. Early life and education Fahrettin Koca was b ...

said that 11 people had been pulled out alive and were being treated in hospital. 58 miners were saved.

Investigation

The cause of the blast is yet unknown and is under investigation, with

firedamp Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...

(possibly

coalbed methane Coalbed methane (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, coal seam gas (CSG), or coal-mine methane (CMM) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Au ...

) being one suspected cause.

Response

President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

wrote on Twitter that he was closely monitoring the situation and said that search and rescue operations were progressing rapidly at the mine. Erdoğan canceled a planned trip to

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

and instead traveled to Amasra on 15 October. Erdoğan's comments linking the explosion to "the plan of destiny" and saying that such explosions "will always be" drew criticism from opposition leader

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (born Kemal Karabulut, 17 December 1948) is a Turkish economist, retired civil servant and social democratic politician. He is leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and has been Leader of the Main Opposition in T ...

, as well as protests in Istanbul.

References

{{reflist 2022 disasters in Turkey 2022 mining disasters

Mine explosion A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground mining (hard rock), underground coal mining, although accidents al ...

Coal mining disasters in Turkey Explosions in 2022 Explosions in Turkey History of Bartın Province October 2022 events in Asia

Explosion

Investigation

Response

See also

References