On Friday, two miners died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a coal mine in the province of Zonguldak while another miner affected by the gas was taken to a nearby hospital. Muharrem Balta, 53, and Serkan Demiro, 27, were 150 meters underground when they were overcome by the gas. Their bodies were taken to the Zonguldak Atatürk State Hospital’s morgue. Poisoned miner İbrahim Zengin, 43, was reportedly in stable condition. Relatives of the miners were distraught at hearing the news. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.Zonguldak, where coal mining has a huge influence and where there are few families without a son or husband working in the mines, has come to the public’s attention recently for fatal accidents. In a May methane gas explosion, 30 miners were trapped 540 meters below ground inside the state-run Karadon mine. Rescue teams comprising 400 men were immediately deployed to the mine following the blast, but despite all efforts, the victims were not brought out alive. After three days, 28 of those trapped were found dead in two different locations inside the mine, while the bodies of two miners still have not been found. Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises (TTK) officials told the Anatolia news agency on Friday that the teams have been working to retrieve the bodies from a hole where they are thought to lie. The miners are estimated to be 725 meters below ground, where the rescue teams could not reach. “The hole was constructed by a Chinese company. Now their officials will come and fix the hole. Then we hope to reach the miners. These efforts may take up to four months. But this time could be longer or shorter. It is not possible to give an exact time because the work is not standard,” TTK General Director Burhan İnan said about rescue efforts to reach the two missing miners.
In the Tuzla shipyards, worker Nurettin Bingöl, 36, died after a rope gave way as he was washing a ship. Bingöl’s body was taken to the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) following an examination at the scene. His body will be sent to his hometown of Niğde. Bingöl was the father of two children.
The Tuzla shipyards have claimed the lives of more than 130 workers so far. Last month, laborer Mehmet Tağrikulu, 60, died after he was trapped under the load his forklift was carrying at the Selay shipyard in Tuzla.
