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The Prime Minister’s office has declared three days of national mourning over one of the county’s worst industrial disasters. The death toll¹ of the accident has soared to 201, and is expected to rise as the rescue operation continues. More than 100 people are still believed to be trapped inside the mine. 80 workers were injured and at least four of them are in serious condition.

Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency² said in a statement that the explosion was in a privately-owned mine in the Soma district of western province Manisa. It happened at a power distribution unit two kilometers below the surface, which stopped the mine’s elevator. The operator said that they inspected the mine’s facilities only two months ago and found nothing against regulations.

The latest incident is one of the numerous mining accidents that Turkey has had in recent years. Accidents such as cave-ins and explosions claim the lives of dozens of mine workers yearly. The country’s worst mining disaster was in 1992, when 270 miners were killed in the northern Turkish province of Zonguldak.