Coal Mine Explosion in Turkey Leaves more than 200 Dead

Turkish miners carry a dead miner after a mine explosion near Soma, Manisa province, Turkey, early 14 May 2014. Photo by EPA/BGNES

An explosion at a coal mine in western Turkey has left at least 201 workers dead.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters early Wednesday that a total of 787 people had been inside the mine at Soma in Manisa province at the time of the explosion, according to reports of the BBC.

The blast at the privately owned mine is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Turkey's Energy Minister informed that the incident had left some 80 people injured and noted that only 360 of a total of 787 people had been accounted for.

Taner Yildiz said that many of the deaths had been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, adding that oxygen was being pumped into the mine to help those still trapped.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has postponed a trip to Albania over the accident and is to visit Soma instead.

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