Desperate search at Turkey Mine

 

Rescuers are hunting desperately for scores of Turkish coal miners still missing after an explosion caused a pit to collapse, killing at least 232.

Dozens escaped the pit in Soma, 450km (280 miles) from Ankara, but officials say more than 200 are unaccounted for.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the mine after announcing three days of mourning for what will be Turkey's most deadly mining disaster.

As ambulances took away an increasing number of bodies, some of the bereaved wailed uncontrollably and were carried away by their families.

Meanwhile, protesters angry at the disaster took to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara on Wednesday.

There were reports of clashes between police and dozens of demonstrators in both cities.

Police were keeping the crowds back to allow emergency services in and out of the area.

 

Sena Isbiler, a mother of one of the miners, stood on top of piles of wood, anxiously craning her neck to see those being led out of the mine.

"I have been waiting for my son since early afternoon," she told AFP news agency. "I haven't heard anything about him yet."

More than 200 are still thought to be in the mine, but he said hopes were fading of finding any more survivors.

He added that carbon monoxide poisoning had claimed many lives. Oxygen was being pumped into the mine to help those still trapped.

The electrical fault triggered a power cut, making the mine cages unusable. Those trapped are reported to be 2km (1.2 miles) below the surface and 4km from the mine entrance.

The blast happened at about 12:30 GMT on Tuesday.

Turkey's worst mining disaster was in 1992, when 263 miners were killed near Zonguldak, on the Black Sea.