18 miners have little chance of being rescued

Hopes of rescuing 18 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in southern Türkiye are fading.

Reuters reported that on October 28, a flood occurred at around 3 p.m. (local time) at a coal mine in Türkiye while workers were having lunch, trapping some miners 350 meters below ground.

Rescue team pumps water out of the coal mine (Photo: AFP)

Kerim Pinarli, a surviving miner, said he and 15 others managed to escape in time.

“We smelled gas and heard our friends downstairs screaming. We got out in a flash,” said Mr Pinarli.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said water had flooded the coal mine and had now reached the area where the workers were trapped.

“The water level is rising by one meter every two hours. Time is against us,” Mr Yildiz said, adding that 34 people were working underground at the time of the accident.

Rescue teams, including divers, are continuing their search for victims at the coal mine on the outskirts of the town of Ermenek, Karaman province, about 110 km off Türkiye's Mediterranean coast.

This is the second major coal mine accident in Türkiye in the past six months.

Türkiye's worst industrial disaster occurred in May 2014 in the town of Soma, killing 301 miners and sparking nationwide protests over unsafe working conditions.

Every year in Türkiye, hundreds of people die in work accidents./.

According to VOV