Property and business interruption

2.6, coal mine explosion, fatalities

Turkey: a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in western Turkey, killing at least nine miners and trapping several others. The blast caused a shaft to collapse at the mine in the village of Odakoy in western Balikesir province. Fire fighters and military troops were trying to reach several more trapped miners. It was not clear at which depth the miners were trapped. Salvage workers earlier evacuated six injured miners. Local military commanders led the rescue operation at the site, some 475km south of Istanbul.