Turkish rescuers struggle to reach trapped miners

Turkish search-and-rescue teams have opened a third location for drilling in an effort to rescue 18 miners trapped in a flooded mine in central Karaman province. 

"We will drill 170-meter deep down from a hill and establish a separate intervention location," Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters in the Ermenek district of central Karaman province, some 400 kilometers south of Ankara on Thursday. 

The minister said this effort would last for at least three or four days. He explained that the rescue teams' efforts to get the water out have been held up by a thick mud build-up inside the mine. 

"Around a seven-to-eight meter mud layer should be taken out," the minister said.

Yildiz also criticized those who called the accident in the mine a "natural disaster." "This is not a natural disaster and we have to share everything truthfully with public opinion," he said.

"There is blame, as a natural disaster did not happen and the blame will be placed after judicial and administrative investigations," the minister said. But he said that the priority is now to recover the trapped workers.

The minister said that the exact cause of the accident would be determined after the mine had been penetrated and cleaned. 

Earlier on Thursday, Yildiz said the water inside the collapsed coal mine began to flow out after teams deployed a second pump.  

Turkey's Transport Minister Lutfi Elvan also remained on the spot to monitor the situation, and stated the rescue efforts would last longer than expected as the water caused a thick mud layer inside the mine.

Search teams are trying to move inside the mud, said Elvan, but he warned that the progress through the mud would be slow. 

The latest figures from the minister indicated that there were 34 miners in total, out of which 18 remain trapped.    

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey said a 537-person team was on site for the search-and-rescue mission, as well as two aircrafts, 25 ambulances, three helicopters, 25 ambulances and 18 rescue vehicles.

'Impossible to state a reason'

It is impossible to determine a specific reason for the Ermenek mine accident which occurred on October 28 in the Karaman province in central Turkey, according to the mining company on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the owning company, Has Sekerler Mining Limited Company said measures were taken for health and safety and all necessary audits were made by the authorized organizations.

"It is impossible to state a reason for the mine accident. According to information that we received from survivor workers, it could be a natural disaster," the company said.

"The sole purpose of our company was to recover the miners alive, and that is why we did not made an announcement until today," the company stated, and added that they will examine the accident area to determine the cause after freeing the miners from the wreckage.

"Mine accidents are hurting us a lot. We hope to reach the trapped miners as soon as possible, our prayers are with them," Turkey's EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said in a press conference on Thursday. 

 Instead of placing blame for the mine accidents, Turkey should put an effort "all together" to prevent the disasters from happening, Bozkir said.

 Bozkir said there is no "abnormality" with Turkish legislation on mine working conditions, and that it is harmonized with EU standards.

Turkey passed the Occupational Health and Safety bill in 2012 and launched regulation of Health and Safety in Workplaces in 2013 as part of  the EU "acquis," or harmonized legislation.

"But the change should be in minds," Bozkir said. "The most important aspect about this is education."

 Along with social actors, political actors also have a great responsibility on this issue, Bozkir explained.

"Political actors are supposed to ratify bills and control their implementation," he said.

Some 400 emergency workers are still at the scene, trying to siphon out an estimated 10 tonnes of water that burst into the shaft and broke down the its walls on Tuesday.

Both Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday visited the area.

Erdogan the day earlier said while the government tightened safety rules after the Soma disaster it was clear some employers had not properly implemented them.

Labour Minister Faruk Celik said that too many small mines were being operated by companies which did not respect the safety rules.

"I think that these mines should be closed," he said.