Turkey Coal Mine Explosion Kills Hundreds, 200 Still Trapped

Last updated on May 14 at 8:10 a.m. ET.

An explosion and fire at a coal mine in western Turkey killed at least 232 people, and the chance of survival for approximately 200 miners is still unclear.

Approximately 787 miners were underground at the time of the accident on Tuesday, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said, according to the Associated Press. So far, more than 300 people have been rescued. The mine is located in Soma, a town in the Turkish province of Manisa, around 155 miles south of Istanbul

Most of the deaths were due to carbon-monoxide poisoning, Yildiz said, adding that some miners were 1,378 feet deep inside the mine. Elevators stopped working after the blast caused an electricity outage, stranding the miners underground, Reuters reported. Read more...