(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) As the search and rescue operation for 18 trapped miners entered its fifth day, Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz refuted media reports three dead bodies were recovered from flooded mine in Ermenek district in central Karaman province.
The rescue efforts have yet to yield results and the process to dry up the mine is still going on but claims on the recovery of three dead bodies are untrue, the minister told reporters in Ermenek, some 400 kms to the south of Ankara, on Saturday.
"We have reached none of our trapped brothers in the ill-fated mine. We could face a new scenario at each level we drain the water," Yildiz affirmed.
Yesterday, he said, the current priority was fortifying the mines in order to enhance workers' safety.
Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Lutfi Elvan, and Minister of Labor and Social Security Faruk Celik are still in the area to monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, records of the last four inspections of occupational safety of the mine in 2013 and 2014 showed that the mine failed to meet 12 of the worker safety standards.
Rescuers are battling to reach the 18 miners who have been trapped underground by flood water since Tuesday, October 28.
Turkey has seen its worst mine disaster on May 13, 2014, when an explosion at Soma coal mine in the western Manisa province caused an underground fire which continued for two days and killed 301 people.
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