Search continues for 18 miners trapped underground

2014-10-31 12:37:44

KARAMAN (DİHA) - Efforts to rescue miners trapped 350 metres below ground by rising water on Tuesday at a coal mine in the Ermenek district of Karaman province in Southern Turkey are continuing.

Families of the trapped men wait in front of the pit as rescue attempts continue at the mine belonging to the Has Şekerler Mining Company in the village of Pamuklu. Three days after the mine was inundated water and mud have been cleared, but no workers have yet been saved, and hope of finding them alive is gradually disappearing.

When the accident happened at 12.15 on Tuesday, mineworkers on the morning shift were having lunch underground. While 16 managed to escape, 18 were unable to get past the flooded area of the mine. While the search goes on for the remaining 18 miners, precautions that should have been taken before are now being implemented.

The police have set up a security cordon around the mine, where families of the missing men continue their anxious wait. It is reported that the water level has fallen and that subsidence in two places is being cleared and the roof of the mine shaft is being strengthened.

(nt)