HOPES were fading Tuesday that 18 miners who were trapped in a flooded coal mine in southern Turkey would be rescued.

    Rescue teams, including divers, continued their work at the mine outside of the town of Ermenek in Karaman province, about 110 km north of Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline.

    It was the second major industrial accident at a Turkish mine in six months. Turkey’s deadliest disaster occurred in May in the western town of Soma, where 301 miners were killed, sparking a national outcry over the country’s shoddy worker safety record. Hundreds of laborers die every year.

    Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters in comments broadcast live that the level of the water that had flooded the mine had now surpassed the area were the miners were situated.

    The flood occurred around 3 p.m. local time when workers were eating their lunch and the trapped miners were about 350 meters below ground, Kerim Pinarli, one of 16 miners who was able to escape, told NTV news channel.(SD-Agencies)