World Bulletin / News Desk

The water inside a collapsed coal mine in central Turkey has begun to decrease after teams deployed a second pump to flush out water in a race to rescue at least 18 miners who remain trapped inside, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said early Wednesday.

Earlier reports suggested there were at least 40 miners trapped inside, but the latest figures from the minister reveals that there were in total 34 miners, out of whom now 18 remain stuck. The flooded mine is near the Ermenek town in Karaman province, around 400 kilometers south of Ankara.

"The pump we have newly set up has began to yield result and the water level is falling. Not as quickly as we want but it is falling," Yildiz told reporters.

The 34 workers got trapped when a water pipe inside a private lignite mine exploded, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey, or the AFAD,  said earlier Tuesday.

The disaster management body also said that a 225-person team was on site for the search-and-rescue mission.

"Two aircraft, 20 ambulances and eight AFAD rescue vehicles continue their search-and-rescue efforts. One mobile base station has been set up at the scene and adequate food packets have also been delivered," it said.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz and Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Lutfi Elvan remain on the spot to monitor the situation.