A methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in western Turkey Thursday, bringing down a mining shaft and trapping about 20 miners, the Anatolia news agency reported. Rescue workers could not enter the mine because of intense fires, said Kahraman Kocamis, an official from the local mayor's office. Two workers were rescued, Anatolia said. The mine is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the town of Gediz in western Kutahya province, it added. Rescuers pulled out two workers and were trying to reach about 20 others trapped inside, the agency said. Several ambulances rushed to the scene.
