A methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in western Turkey, killing 17 miners and injuring five others, Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said Friday. Rescue workers evacuated 40 miners, including the five injured, and were still trying to recover three of the bodies trapped in the mine after Thursday evening's blast caused a shaft to collapse at the mine in the village of Odakoy in western Balikesir province, Guler said. Seven miners who were participating in rescue efforts were hospitalized with methane gas poisoning, private NTV television said.
