Thirty miners were trapped deep inside the Karadon mine in Zonguldak following a large methane gas explosion on Monday. Rescue teams managed to recover 28 bodies on Thursday, while the remaining two are still buried underground. As Turkey was trying to recover from the tragic deaths of the workers, it was shaken again yesterday by news that the bodies of some of the victims were mixed up. So far 25 of the 28 bodies recovered have been returned to their families, while the remaining three have yet to be identified. Authorities have reportedly found that DNA samples of one of the three bodies in the morgue matched none of the remaining families, which led investigators to realize an error was made.Two of the five families who have yet to receive their relatives’ bodies stated that the bodies of their relatives were given to the wrong families.
Labor Minister Ömer Çelik also confirmed that an error was made.
Zonguldak Chief Public Prosecutor Hüseyin Özbakır said yesterday the mistake was going to be cleared up. The graves of the six victims were dug up yesterday and their bodies exhumed for DNA testing.
Meanwhile, officials announced that the two workers whose bodies have yet to be recovered were Engin Düzcük and Dursun Kartal.
After a huge methane gas explosion at around 1:30 p.m. on May 17, 30 miners were trapped 540 meters below ground inside the mine in Zonguldak. Rescue teams comprising 400 men were immediately deployed following the blast. Intensive rescue efforts were launched, but rescuers were unable to reach the trapped workers for almost three days because the high concentration of explosive gas prevented the rescue teams from using vehicles to remove debris. Work was also hampered by fallen rocks.
