Up to 20 miners are trapped deep underground after an explosion in a pit in western Turkey.

Initial reports from the city of Bursa blame the blast on a build-up of methane gas; a shaft is thought to have collapsed, trapping the miners more than 200 metres below the surface. Specialist rescue teams have been brought in, and fresh air is being pumped in to help the miners breathe.

Accidents are not uncommon in Turkish pits; 17 miners died in another methane gas explosion in Balikesir three years ago, while 270 were killed near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak in 1992.

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