Date | 14 October 2022 |
---|---|
Time | 18:30 (UTC+3) |
Location | Amasra coal mine, Amasra, Bartın Province, Turkey |
Coordinates | 41°43′23″N 32°21′01″E / 41.72306°N 32.35028°E |
Cause | Mine explosion |
Deaths | 42[1] |
Non-fatal injuries | 27[2][3] |
On 14 October 2022, an explosion occurred in Amasra coal mine in Amasra, Bartın Province, Turkey, killing 42 people and injuring 27.[1][3][4] It was one of the deadliest industrial incidents in Turkey.[5][6]
The explosion occurred at 6:30 p.m. Turkish time,[7] at a depth of about 300 metres.[8] At the time of the incident, around 110 people were working in the mine and almost half of them were below 300 m (980 ft) deep.[9][10][11] Some reports stated that five people were working under 350 m (1,150 ft) and 44 people were working under 300 m (980 ft).[12][13][14]
Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu said that more than 22 people had died[15][16] and 28 people crawled out on their own.[17] Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said that 11 people had been pulled out alive and were being treated in hospital.[18][19] 58 miners were saved.
The cause of the blast is yet unknown[20][needs update] and is under investigation,[21] with firedamp (possibly coalbed methane) being one suspected cause.[22]
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 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.[23] 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.[24]