Cengiz Ergun, the mayor of Manisa, said about 600 workers were trapped in the rubble following the explosion, though his estimate is yet to be confirmed by the Turkish government, which last said that 17 had died.
Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency has said 70 people perished, AP reported, while telling Reuters that 11 injured miners had been recovered from the Soma mine.
Between 200 to 580 miners were working in the mine at the time of the explosion, according to media reports. Reuters has reported that at least 200 miners are trapped in the debris, while others have estimated that figure to be in the dozens.
The mayor of Soma, a district in Manisa, said the explosion was caused by an electrical fault, Reuters reported. The explosion, which occurred about 1.2 miles below the surface reportedly disabled an elevator in the mine shaft. The workers are trapped some 2.5 miles from the exit.
Turkey’s worst mining disaster in recent years was a gas explosion in 1992 near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak, which left some 270 workers dead. Since then, Turkey has borne witness to several mining accidents.
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