Minister: 19 miners killed in Turkey's mine blast
A Turkish minister said Friday that all the 19 workers trapped in a collapsed coal mine in northwestern Turkey were killed.
"Unfortunately, all of the miners were dead. The ground support there totally collapsed on the impact of the explosion," Labor and Social Security Minister Omer Dincer was quoted as saying by the semi-official Anatolia news agency.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening in Mustafakemalpasa town in the province of Bursa. The explosion took place at a depth of around 250-350 meters, causing the mine to cave in and a fire to break out.
Local NTV channel had previously reported a death toll of six workers. The cause of the explosion is still unknown.