Hopes dim as 18 Turkish miners remain under 11,000 tonnes of water

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yıldız announced early Oct. 29 that the water level in the flooded Karaman mine started to decrease almost 15 hours after the incident, but hopes were fading as 18 trapped miners remained below 11,000 tonnes of water Hopes were fading on Oct. 29 as the water level started to decrease in a central Anatolian Turkish coal mine where 18 miners remain trapped after a flooding a day before.

The incident occurred around noon at a coal mine near the Pamuklu village in the the Central Anatolian province of Karaman's Ermenek district on Oct. 28. Rescue teams and ambulances have been dispatched to the area, soon after the incident occurred when water that had accumulated underground flooded a gallery, Karaman Governor Murat Koca told Anadolu Agency.

“Over 40 workers were in the mine at the time of the incident, when there was a problem in one gallery. The other workers left the mine but 20 miners were left working in the flooded gallery,” Koca said.

‘They might have drowned’

An official from the mine later updated the number of trapped miners as 18. He added that those who remained may have drowned.
 
“We are pumping the water to rescue them. There is 50 meters of water, 350 meters underground. The masks can resist for two hours. There are two places where they can escape. But they may have drowned, because the water flooded [the gallery] suddenly,” Şahin Uyar told private broadcaster NTV.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, Labor Minister Faruk Çelik and Transport Minister Lütfi Elvan have arrived in Ermenek to observe the rescue operations at the mine. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has also sent representatives to the site, headed...