ANKARA (Xinhua/AFP) – Five prosecutors were appointed to investigate an underground coal mine explosion that killed at least 41 workers in northern Turkey, the country’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sunday.
“I would like to express clearly to the public that this incident will be investigated and clarified in all its aspects. No matter how many questions there are, they will all be answered,” he said.
Eleven others were injured and hospitalized in the explosion, which occurred 300 meters below ground on Friday at the Amasra Hard Coal Enterprise in Amasra town, state and local officials said.
If there is any negligence, fault, or deficiency, the law will do what is necessary, the Turkish minister emphasized.
Bozdag said it was not possible to detect evidence inside the mine at present as the cooling works have not yet been completed, but promised that all requirements of the investigation will be meticulously fulfilled in the next period.
Meanwhile, all the operations at the mine have been suspended until further notice and the teams continued to fight the fire in parts of the site, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez told reporters.
Initial findings indicate the blast was caused by firedamp, he said.
Sitting on the stairs of his house overlooking the Black Sea, the father of a dead miner accepts condolences from relatives and neighbors. His scarred Turkish village lost three of its young men in this Friday’s mining disaster.
Three out of 41 miners killed in the coal mine explosion in the town of Amasra on Friday were from Ahatlar, a village on its outskirts, where funeral services were held on Sunday.
“My son is gone. I am falling apart, this is ruining me,” said grieving Kemal Yildirim, father of Saban, who was in his early 20s when he died.
“Friends gave me the sad news. We hurried to the pit on Friday. He was one of the last remaining ones to be pulled out at 7 am the next day,” he said.
The young miner’s pregnant wife is expecting twins. He was employed by the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises’ mine in 2019 after graduating from university.