40 people killed in Turkey coal mine explosion

A relative of a missing miner reacts while waiting in front of the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. [Khalil Hamra, AP]

The death toll from a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey rose to at least 40 people Saturday, officials said.

Desperate relatives had waited all night in the cold outside the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, hoping for news. There were 110 miners working in the shaft when the explosion occurred Friday evening.