PM: Greece ready to assist Turkey over deadly coal mine explosion
Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed on Saturday his sadness over a fatal explosion at a coal mine in northern Turkey, while offering assistance.
The death toll from the explosion at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, had reached 40 by Saturday, with 11 injured and hospitalized. Another 58 others managed to get out of the mine on their own or were rescued unharmed. The status of one remaining miner was unclear, Reuters reported.
“Sad to hear of the terrible mine explosion and loss of life in Bartin province in Türkiye. Greece is ready to send assistance immediately to help in the search for survivors,” Mitsotakis tweeted.
Sad to hear of the terrible mine explosion and loss of life in Bartin province in Türkiye. Greece is ready to send assistance immediately to help in the search for survivors.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) October 15, 2022
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a letter he was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life” at the mine. “Our sympathies to the bereaved families & wishes for swift recovery to the injured,” he said.
Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides also expressed Greece’s condolences over the tragic accident in Bartin as well as the country’s readiness to provide “all possible assistance to the Turkish Authorities,” in a call to Turkish ambassador to Greece, Burak Ozugergin.
