Hundreds killed in Turkey coal mine explosion

A coal mine fire in the town of Soma, in west Turkey's Manisa province, has killed 232 miners and trapped hundreds more underground, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said early on Wednesday.

Yildiz said 363 miners who work at the privately-owned mine had been pulled out alive in the initial stages of a rescue on Tuesday, while Turkish media said early Wednesday another six had been rescued. 

The explosion took place during a shift changeover, and there are concerns that the death toll may rise as fires and the risk of toxic carbon monoxide hamper rescue efforts.

There are 201 miners who are confirmed dead out of 787 mineworkers working at the time of the fire. Of those rescued alive, 80 were injured, four of them seriously, Yildiz said.

"I must say that our hopes about rescue efforts inside [the mine] are fading," he told reporters.

Earlier, a security source told AFP that there were pockets in the mine, one of which was open so rescuers were able to reach the workers, but the second was blocked with workers trapped inside.

The explosion was believed to have been triggered by a faulty electrical transformer at around 1230 GMT Tuesday. The exact cause of the blast has yet to be officially announced. 

Hundreds of people gathered around the explosion site as rescuers brought out injured workers, who were coughing and struggling to breathe due to the dust. Meanwhile, Turkish Red Crescent set up tents for the worried relatives of trapped miners

Sena Isbiler, mother of one of the miners, stood on top of piles of wood, craning her neck to see who was being led out of the mine.

"I have been waiting for my son since early afternoon," she told AFP.

"I haven't heard anything about him yet."

Arum Unzar, a colleague of the missing miners said he had lost a friend previously "but this is enormous".

"All the victims are our friends," he said as he wept.

"We are a family and today that family is devastated. We have had very little news and when it does come it's very bad," he added.

A crowd of relatives flocked to the district's hospital to learn about the medical situation of the injured miners rescued. 

Tragedy hits

Fire officials were trying to pump clean air into the mine shaft for those who remained trapped some two kilometres below the surface and four kilometres from the entrance.

By evening, injured people were still emerging from the collapsed mine - some walking, others being carried by rescue workers while being given oxygen.

Nearby, security officers tried to keep ambulance routes clear to ensure help could reach the victims.

The company that runs the mine, Soma Komur has issued a statement saying it had taken maximum measures to ensure safety.

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.

Mines and stone quarries are the most dangerous places for Turkish workers. According to data, more than 10 percent of work-related accidents in 2013 happened in the mining sector.

Soma is one of the key centres for lignite coal mining in Turkey, a district with a population of around 100,000 where the mines and a lignite-fired thermal power plant are the main economic activity.