Mining accident in Turkey the country’s worst

At least 238 miners were killed in a May 13 fire in a coal mine located in Soma, Turkey, Bloomberg News reports.

Despite methane gas and fire, rescuers are trying to save about 120 miners believed to be trapped underground, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bloomberg News says.

The mining accident may be one of the worst since 1992, when a gas explosion killed 263 at a mine in Kozlu. Bloomberg News says the country has the highest number of accidents in the workplace in all of Europe, according to the Turkiye newspaper.

Soma Komur Isletmeleri AS owns the mine.

For additional details, check out the Bloomberg News story here.

UPDATE: The final death toll is 301 workers, as rescue efforts have ceased. News reports say 485 miners survived the fire that caused the country’s worst mining disaster to date. Executives who work for the business unit of Soma that operates the mine were detained by authorities in Turkey, where coal mining fatalities are said to be the highest in the world. Last month, the mine passed inspection, according to a Bloomberg News report.