Coal mine explosion kills more than 200, traps hundreds more

摘要

Rescuers in Turkey are continuing to search for more than 200 coal miners said to be trapped underground after at least 238 were killed in one of the nation's worst mining disasters in decades. The miners died when an explosion yesterday in a power distribution unit at the mine near the town of Soma started a fire that still burned today. The death toll of 238 is the highest in Turkey since 263 workers were killed in a gas explosion inside a mine in 1992. "We are worried that this death toll will rise," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said. "I have to say that our hopes are dimming in terms of the rescue efforts."