According to the initial reports, over 205 people died and hundreds injured in the fire that erupted in Soma coal mine yesterday. We are concerned that the number of casualties may escalate.

As IHH Humanitarian Organization we are deeply sorry for this grievous catastrophe. An IHH emergency response team of 20 people has immediately gone to the region following the incident and they are supporting the search and rescue activities as well as providing for the basic needs of people waiting for their relatives trapped inside.

As IHH, we believe that our miners are subject to the Prophetic Tradition of “He who dies while earning a living for his family is a martyr.” We pray for Allah’s blessing for them. We would like to offer our condolences to their relatives. We wish a fast recovery to the injured. We hope Allah would not make us live through any other catastrophe as such.