families after Turkey coal mine explosion as death toll rises to at least 41

• Explosion occurred at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in northern Turkey last night
• Turkey's President today announced that the last trapped worker had been found, bringing the death toll to 41
• He expressed his condolences to the families and attended the funeral prayers of several of the victims
• Mr Erdogan vowed to bring an end to mining disasters, while unions said the deaths had been preventable

Turkey's President Erdogan has today been comforting the families of the 41 people killed in a coal mine explosion in the north of the country last night, as he vowed to bring an end to mining disasters.

After cancelling a planned visit to the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir, Mr Erdogan arrived at the incident site in the town of Amsara, where he announced that the search to find the last trapped worker was complete, bringing the rescue operation to an end and the death toll to 41.

The explosion occurred at the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, just before sunset last night, with rescue teams working throughout the night to find those who were trapped.