A methane gas explosion at a privately operated coal mine in Gelik, in the Kilimli district of Turkey's Black Sea province of Zonguldak, killed three miners and injured five others on Friday, the Zonguldak Governor's Office said after rescue operations ended.

Source: AFP via Turkish Minute

The blast occurred at around 10 a.m. local time. Eight people were in the tunnel when the explosion happened; seven were brought out, and rescuers later recovered the body of the last miner trapped underground, raising the death toll from two to three.

Source: Associated Press

Zonguldak Governor Osman Hacibektasoglu said two of the injured miners suffered burns, were in serious condition and were being taken to the capital, Ankara, for treatment. "Eight people were in the tunnel, seven were rescued. Unfortunately, two of our miners died after being taken to hospital," he said.

Judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the explosion, the governor's office said. State broadcaster TRT first reported the blast and the initial toll.

Mine accidents are not uncommon in Turkey. Earlier this month, five people were killed in a coal mine collapse in western Turkey. The independent monitoring group Worker Health and Work Safety Assembly (ISIG) reported that 1,267 miners were killed in workplace accidents between 2013 and 2025, and the country's deadliest mining disaster, at Soma in 2014, killed 301 miners.