ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least two people died and five were wounded in a methane gas explosion in a coal mine in the Turkish province of Zonguldak on Friday, with Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci noting ongoing efforts to rescue one miner who remains trapped at the site.

The incident took place in the province’s Kilimli district in the town of Gelik. Rescue teams recovered two bodies and evacuated five injured miners to hospital, state media reported.

Local authorities said that the disaster was caused by a firedamp explosion in a private coal mine in the town around 10 AM.

“Efforts are underway to rescue one miner who remains trapped in the mine,” Ciftci said on his social media platforms, noting continued monitoring by authorities on the matter.

At least two people were killed and another five wounded after a methane gas explosion in a coal mine in Turkey's Gelik on Friday, with Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci noting that "efforts are underway to rescue one miner who remains trapped." https://t.co/Hjp54F4nqe

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“Three of the injured are in good condition, while two have been intubated due to burns,” Zonguldak Governor Osman Hacibektasoglu told reporters, adding that “one miner has been located inside the mine, and efforts are underway to bring him out. We have not yet been able to definitively confirm his status.”

The Zonguldak Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation to probe the circumstances of the explosion, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek wrote on X.

“One deputy chief public prosecutor and two public prosecutors have been assigned to the case,” he said.

In a similar incident in October, a mine collapsed in western Turkey’s Soma town, leading to the death of five workers. A Turkish public prosecutor’s office later ordered the detention of nine individuals in connection with the incident.