SOMA, Turkey — Five miners were killed and two others injured following a sudden underground collapse at the İmbat mining facility in the Soma district of western Turkey’s Manisa province.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:00 PM on Thursday, October 1, 2026 when seven workers were trapped deep inside the mine shaft. A massive search and rescue operation was immediately launched by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), joining forces with health services, local fire crews, and specialized mine rescue teams.
Two miners were successfully pulled from the rubble shortly after the collapse and rushed to a local hospital for emergency medical treatment, with one discharged later that evening. However, recovery efforts turned grim overnight as emergency personnel located the remains of the remaining five workers—identified by local authorities as HalitErsay, KerimÖren, Ramazan İnce, İsa Olcay, and ÖmerKarakaya.
"The search and rescue operations carried out after the mine collapse in Soma district have ended, and the bodies of our trapped mine workers have been recovered," the Manisa Governor’s Office confirmed in an official statement early Friday morning.
The disaster has sent shockwaves through a region that holds deep scars from industrial tragedy. Soma was the site of Turkey’s worst-ever mining disaster in May 2014, when an underground fire and explosion claimed the lives of 301 coal miners.
Judicial authorities and safety inspectors have initiated a formal investigation into the structural integrity of the site and the precise cause of the shaft collapse.
Following the announcement, trade unions and labor rights organizations renewed their demands for stringent regulatory oversight and comprehensive safety audits across all subterranean mining operations. Representatives emphasized that repeated tragedies in the region underscore an urgent need for enforced accountability and modernized safety protocols to protect workers operating in high-risk underground environments.
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