ANKARA- Eighteen workers were trapped deep underground in a coal mine in western Turkey Thursday after a gas explosion caused a cave-in and sparked a fire, local officials said.
"Experts at the spot say the survival of the workers would be a miracle," an official from the sub-governor's office in Gediz, in the province of Kutahya, where the incident ocurred.
He said rescuers trying to reach the 18 people, an engineer and 17 miners, were impeded by the blaze, and were pumping oxygen into the mine to increase the chances of survival.
"The efforts will continue throughout the night," he said, adding that a specialized search-and-rescue team was flown to the site on a helicopter.
Two workers were rescued slightly injured from the state-run mine after the explosion, Gediz sub-governor Ali Nazim Balcioglu told Anatolia news agency.
The remaining workers were trapped in a gallery about 300 meters (985 feet) underground, he said.
Gas explosions are common in Turkey, particularly in privately-run mines where respect for safety regulations is often minimal.
04/21/2005 16:40 GMT