At least 41 miners have died in an accident in Turkey's northern Bartin province. Many miners are believed to be still trapped. Rescue workers are continuing a desperate effort in a race against time.
Rescue workers arrived back on the surface after spending hours in one of Turkey's deepest coal mines searching for dozens of missing miners.
Rescue workers spoke of terrible conditions, with the air thick with dust.
On Friday evening, a blast ripped through the mine while over one hundred miners were working, almost half of them over 300 meters deep. Many of the miners have been rescued, some were seriously injured. One rescued miner who didn't give his name described the conditions.
"There was such dense dust and smoke that I did not see anything like that in my life. The dust was so dense. I couldn't see anything ahead even with the lamp," he said.
Many of the miners' families spent Friday night waiting outside the mine, hoping for news. Their vigil continued Saturday and was joined by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who pledged rescue efforts would continue with a commitment to hold anyone responsible for the accident.
"The reasons for this explosion and the people responsible for it, if any, will be revealed with an administrative and judicial investigation,” Erdogan said. “These investigations have already been initiated in a multifaceted manner. Our priority was to reach the workers trapped underground."
Ongoing fires are hampering rescue efforts inside the mine, as is the dust-filled air. Hopes of finding more survivors appear to be fading, with the local mayor saying rescue efforts were coming to an end.
Erdogan stayed for the miners’ funerals that started Saturday.
It's unclear what caused the explosion, but authorities say initial indicators point to firedamp — a term used to refer to highly combustible methane gas, a frequent cause of mine explosions.
Some local media reports, citing Turkish regulatory authorities, warned of the danger of a gas explosion, but the government denies that.
Turkey is no stranger to mining accidents. Eight years ago, over 300 miners died in the country's worst mining accident, in Soma in western Turkey.
An investigation following that accident blamed poor safety measures. Erdogan, then prime minister, vowed to improve safety procedures in Turkey's mines. But Friday's latest mining accident, according to observers, likely will put that government promise under scrutiny.
