One mine worker was killed and 21 others injured in a fire that broke out in a coal mine in Manisa province early on Sunday morning Today`s Zaman reported.
Rescue teams from nearby coal mines, ambulance teams and Manisa disaster and emergency teams were dispatched to the mine located in the Darkele district.
Manisa Governor Abdurrahman Savas stated that the fire in the mine was caused by a blast that occurred along electrical wires. Twenty-eight workers, trapped in a heavy smoke-filled mine after the fire erupted, were freed from the mine -- which is reportedly operated by a private company -- by rescue teams. Six of the workers were rescued from the mine without any injuries.
The 22 injured were taken to Soma State Hospital, where later 47-year-old Yunus Guclu died. Guclu's proximity to the fire reportedly led to his inhaling more smoke than the other trapped workers. The exact cause of his death will be known after an autopsy is conducted.
According to the reports, Guclu had been working in the mine for only a month and lived in the village of Sitmapinar with his wife and six children.