UPDATE - Condolences continue to pour in over coal mine blast in Türkiye

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT, ADDS MORE BACKGROUND

By Merve Berker and Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – World leaders and nations on Sunday continued to express solidarity with Türkiye, where a coal mine blast on Friday killed at least 41 people and injured 11 others.

There were 110 miners working several hundred meters below ground at the time of the explosion in Amasra district of northern Bartin province.

While search and rescue efforts have been completed and coal production at the mine suspended, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said prosecutors are continuing with the investigation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had visited the site on Saturday, and said support will be immediately extended to the wounded workers, as well as the families of those who lost their lives.

He has thanked "all the friendly countries, their peoples, and international organizations for sharing our grief and expressing solidarity."

Erdogan also visited the injured miners, some of whom are under treatment in Istanbul, and underscored that the medical staff is utilizing all resources for their wellbeing.

Nasser Kanani, Iran's Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, wished “divine mercy” for those who died in the incident, patience for their families and a speedy recovery for the injured miners.

He also conveyed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives as well as the "friendly and fraternal" Turkish nation and government.

Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez expressed regrets over the tragic incident on Twitter, saying: "Our condolences and solidarity to the relatives, the people and the government of Türkiye."

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in a statement said: “Our prayers and thoughts are with the grieving families of the deceased miners in the tragic accident in Bartin province, Türkiye. We wish the injured a speedy recovery.”

Messages were also received from Ararat Mirzoyan, Armenia’s foreign minister, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

The Bolivian Foreign Ministry expressed its “heartfelt condolences” to the victims of the mine blast. “It also sympathizes with the injured after this tragic accident and hopes for their speedy recovery.”

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush also extended condolences to her Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu over a phone call.

The blast is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the country’s recent history. In May 2014, as many as 301 workers were killed at a coal mine in the Aegean province of Manisa.