Turkish Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said that 274 people had died at a mine in Soma (Manisa Province), 250km south of Istanbul, RIA Novosti reports.
The explosion at the mine at 4.10PM on Tuesday was caused by a short circuit at a depth of about 2km. 787 people were working at the mine at that moment. 363 people have been saved. About 150 people were blocked in tunnels. 460 rescuers are trying to save their lives.
Over 3,000 Turkish miners have died since 1941. Until recently, the biggest tragedy in the Turkish mining industry had been an accident on March 3, 1992, when 263 people had died. The main problem at Turkish mines is poor education of staff and violation of security measures.
