An explosion in the mining town of Amasra, Turkey, has claimed the lives of at least 41 coal miners. Teams from various provinces swarmed in to help with the rescue operation. Authorities are working around the clock to free dozens more still trapped underground.
The explosion took place at roughly 6:45 p.m. local time on Friday. The cause of the blast is said to be something referred to as “firedamp.”
FACT-O-RAMA! “Firedamp” is a collection of gas, mostly methane, found in pockets of coal mines. It usually stems from bituminous coal. It can combust spontaneously and without notice.
There were approximately 110 workers in the mine when the explosion took place. Roughly twenty or so miners escaped, and 49 more are believed to be trapped underground.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled his plans and headed to the site to help coordinate rescue efforts.
“Our hope is that the loss of life does not increase further, that our miners are saved,” Erdogan declared in a prepared statement. “All our efforts are geared in that direction.”
Family and friends raced to the mine hoping to hear news of their loved ones.
Turkey’s worst mining accident in history was just eight years ago when 301 miners perished in a brutal fire.
The worst mining accident in the U.S. occurred in Monongah, W.Va., in 1907, when electric wires are believed to have ignited clouds of dust, causing an explosion that killed 367 miners. Only one man survived.
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