Turkey: Workers trapped after methane gas explosion

By Suleyman Elcin, SinanOzmus and Yunus Icen

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) - Two workers were trapped underground after a methane gas explosion in a coal mine in the Mediterranean city of Antalya on Tuesday, local authorities said.

Antalya Governor Munir Karaloglu told Anadolu Agency that the gas explosion occurred in a coal mine in the village of Ovacik in the Kemer district.

He said six people were rescued and sent to local hospitals while two others were trapped in the mine.

“The two workers can't be reached. They are 900 meters [underground],” he said.

Kemer official Mustafa Cihad Feslihan told Anadolu Agency that a team from Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) had reached the scene and started rescue operations.