Preliminary assessments indicated that the explosion was likely caused by firedamp, which is a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines, Donmez said. Three prosecutors were investigating the blast. A miner who works the day shift said he saw the news and hurried to the site to help with the rescue. “We saw a frightful scene, it cannot be described, it’s very sad,” said Celal Kara, 40. “They’re all my friends... they all had dreams,” the miner of 14 years said after exiting the mine, his face covered in soot. Ambulances were on standby at the site. Rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighbouring provinces, Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to visit Amasra on Saturday. He tweeted that any neglect would punished. Separately, the Turkish police headquarters said in a statement that legal action would be taken against 12 online users who allegedly shared provocative content about the mine explosion to incite hate on social media. Turkey’s worst mine disaster was in 2014, when 301 miners died after a fire erupted inside a coal mine in the town of Soma, in the west of the country.

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