**Six miners have been killed and another 13 trapped underground in a suspected methane gas explosion at a coal mine in western Turkey.**A rescue operation is underway but Turkish media reported that the trapped miners were also feared dead.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by weather conditions and the high concentration of gas.
The explosion happened at a depth of more than 200 metres (700 feet), causing a shaft to collapse.
Turkish Labour Minister Omer Dincer said the six bodies of the dead miners were recovered early on Friday morning. But he expressed hope of finding survivors.
“We’re very sorry. We did not lose our hope. We’re trying to reach them,” he said outside the mine in the village of Devecikonagi, in the western province of Bursa.
However an opposition MP, Abdullah Ozer, said he had been told that because of the high concentrations of gas in the mine, there was little hope for those trapped inside.
Rescuers have been pumping air into the mine to try to disperse the methane. Local media reported that six rescuers had to be treated in hospital after they were overcome by fumes.