Two miners were killed and one was injured after a collapse at a privately operated coal mine in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak’s Gelik town on Feb. 16.
The cave-in occurred for reasons yet to be determined while three workers were carrying out maintenance and cleaning work in a ventilation shaft.
Emergency teams were dispatched to the site after colleagues raised the alarm. İsmet Kabuk, 31, was pulled out injured, taken to the hospital, and discharged from Zonguldak Atatürk State Hospital. The bodies of Veysel Oruçoğlu, 46 and Ziya Kiret, 60, were recovered after seven and nine hours of rescue efforts, respectively.
Governor Osman Hacıbektaşoğlu said the mine was licensed and operating legally, adding that a judicial investigation had been launched. The Justice Ministry announced that two prosecutors and a panel of mining engineers had been assigned to examine the incident.
Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan also announced that the Social Security Institution had appointed a chief inspector to investigate the incident.
