17 miners killed in mine collapse in northwestern Turkey

17 Turkish miners killed in mine collapse

ANKARA, Turkey — A methane gas explosion on Tuesday caused the collapse of an underground chamber of a Turkish coal mine in northwestern Turkey, killing 17 workers, a state-run news agency said.

The blast at the mine near the town of Dursunbey in Balikesir province buried the miners nearly 820 feet (250 meters) below the surface, said Erhan Ortakoylu, the owner of the mine.

Rescue work was called off after 29 other workers were evacuated, the state-run Anatolia news agency said. Some were hospitalized with severe burns.

It was the second deadly gas explosion at the same mine within three years. Seventeen workers were killed at the mine in a similar blast in June 2006, Anatolia said. The mine is 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the center of Dursunbey.

In December, a similar accident killed 19 miners in Bursa province, also in northwestern Turkey. Safety violations and outdated equipment have been factors in past mine accidents in the country.

In Turkey’s worst mining disaster, a gas explosion killed 270 workers near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak in 1992.