Coal news and updates

Workers injured in coal mine collapse in western Turkey

Forty five workers were injured on Saturday when a coal mine collapsed in western Izmir province’s Kınık district, daily Evrensel reported.

No lives were lost in the collapse, while workers were hospitalised.

A newly dug gallery collapsed at 20:40 on Saturday, trapping dozens. While rescue teams made it to the scene, some workers got out of the rubble by their own means, they told reporters.

Chamber of Mining Engineers had warned the mine owners in March that the deeper levels posed a threat for methane explosions, Evrensel cited Labour Party (EMEP) Chairman Ercüment Akdeniz as saying.

“It appears that the private sector still does not take precautions for workers’ health and job safety. No lesson was taken from the death of 301 miners,” Akdeniz said, referring to the mining disaster in neighbouring Soma district in 2014.

Several executives from the Polyak Eynez Mining Co., which owns the Kınık mine, had been working for Soma Holding before the Soma disaster, Evrensel said. Among the executives was Polyak Director General  Serkan Bahçekapılı.

The accident was due to pressure shock from a failsafe mechanism when methane levels surpassed 2 percent, Chamber of Mining Engineers Izmir Chapter Chairman Aykut Aydemir said.