Forty people are believed to have died following an explosion in a coal mine in northern Turkey, the country’s interior minister says.
Around 110 people were in the mine at the time of the blast on Friday, almost half of them at over 300 metres deep.
Emergency crews worked through the night, digging through rocks to try to reach more survivors.
Video footage shows miners emerging blackened and bleary-eyed accompanied by rescuers at the facility in Amasra, on the Black Sea coast.
The family and friends of the missing could also be seen at the mine, anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.
“Fifty-eight of our miners were able to come out unharmed. We estimate that 15 of our miners are [trapped] below and we are trying to rescue them,” Mr Soylu told reporters at the scene.
The explosion is believed to have occurred at around 300m deep. Some 49 people had been working in the “risky” zone between 300 and 350m (985 to 1,150ft) underground, Mr Soylu said.
The cause of the blast is not yet known, and the local prosecutor’s office has begun an investigation.
