MOSCOW, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – An explosion and fire has killed at least 201 workers at a coal mine in western Turkey and trapped hundreds of others underground, said Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız quoted by Agence France-Presse Wednesday.
At the moment of the blast there were at least 787 people working at the Soma mine, the minister said.
Soma is 250 kilometers (155 miles) south from Istanbul. The explosion, which occurred about two kilometers (1.2 miles) below the surface Tuesday, is believed to have been triggered by an electrical fault. A rescue operation is under way.
