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,
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 ext ...
, 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 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 (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 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, as well as protests in Istanbul.
See also
*
Coal in Turkey
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