Hundreds trapped in mine explosion in western Turkey, four dead

Published May 13th, 2014 - 05:40 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Reuters reported Tuesday that a fire in a coal mine in western Turkey has trapped hundreds of miners and has already killed four.

Officials told reporters that a mine blast in Soma in the western province of Manisa happened while workers were switching shifts, which has lead to great uncertainty regarding the actual number of miners trapped from the explosion.

"They are pumping oxygen into the mine, but the fire is still burning. They say it is an electrical fault but it could be that coal is burning as well," said regional labor union chairman Tamer Kucukgencay.

Soma's parliament representative Muzaffer Yurttas told CNN that four of the miners have already died.

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