An explosion and fire at a coal mine in western Turkey has killed at least 200 people and trapped hundreds of othersas rescue teams rush to deal with the tragedy.

The explosion occurred at a mine in Soma, around 75 miles north-east of the Aegean coastal city of Izmir on Tuesday.  Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said 787 workers were inside the mine at the time of the blast.

Like Us on Facebook

However, as the explosion took place during a change of shift, it is still unclear exactly how many miners were left stranded underground.

It has been confirmed that carbon dioxide poisoning triggered the majority of the deaths and so far 76 victims have been hospitalized.

The death toll is expected to rise in what is considered Turkey's worst mining accident in more than two decades.

The explosion is believed to have been triggered by an electric fault and the subsequent fire has left hundreds of miners trapped two kilometers underground.

Rescuers pumped oxygen into the mine but it is not clear if the fire has been contained.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan postponed a day-trip to Albania in order to visit the disaster site.

"Rescue efforts for our brothers in the mine are ongoing ... God willing, in the coming hours, I hope to receive uplifting news," Erdogan told news sources during a speech in Ankara.

The tragedy has brought to light some of the poor health and safety records present in the coal mining industry in Turkey.

In 1992, Turkey experienced its worst mining accident when a gas explosion resulted in the death of 263 workers in the province of Zonguldak.

Prior to the most recent tragedy, Turkey's last mining incident occurred in May 2010 when another gas explosion at a mine in the same province killed 30 miners.

TagsTurkey, Coal mining accidents