Turkish mine firm responds to negligence concerns

The company that runs the Turkish mine which was hit by an explosion and a fire in western Turkey on Tuesday has said it had took maximum measures to ensure safety there.

"Unfortunately, some of our workers have lost their lives in this tragic accident," wrote the statement from Soma Komur.

"The accident happened despite maximum safety measures and inspections, but we have been able to take prompt action," it added.

Energy Minister Yildiz had promised the government would "not turn a blind eye" to negligence. "We will do whatever necessary, including all administrative and legal steps," he said.

Turkey's Ministry of Labour and Social Security said the mine was last inspected on 17 March and was found to be compliant with safety regulations.

But Oktay Berrin, a miner, said workers were not protected underground.

"There is no security in this mine," he told AFP.

"The unions are just puppets and our management only cares about money."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said he would arrive in Soma on Wednesday after cancelling a trip to Albania.

Speaking in Ankara, the leader expressed his "heartfelt condolences" to the families of those who died.

"Some of the workers have been rescued and I hope we will be able to rescue the others," Erdogan said.

Main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has also canceled all his engagements to visit the area on Wednesday.

Yildiz told journalists in Soma that a team of 400 people were involved in the rescue effort, and that the main cause of the deaths was carbon monoxide and dioxide poisoning.

"Time isn't working in our favour. We need to get them out. We could be in a troubled situation," he said earlier.

The miners are all thought to have gas masks, but it was not clear how long they would work for.

Vedat Didari, a professor of mining, told AFP that the biggest risk was the lack of oxygen.

"If the ceiling fans are not working, the workers could die within an hour," said Didari, from the Bulent Ecevit University in the city of Zonguldak.

Explosions and cave-ins are common in Turkey, particularly in private mines where safety regulations are often flouted.

Yildiz's announcement raises fears this might become the biggest mining disaster in Turkish history, with hundreds of workers still stranded below the soil.

Turkey's worst mining accident happened in 1992 when 263 workers were killed in a gas explosion in a mine in Zonguldak.

More than 3,000 people have died and over 100,000 injured in mining accidents since 1941 in Turkey, government statistics agency TurkStat's figures show.