DHAKA: Rescuers are losing hope that 18 workers, trapped underground at a coal mine in southern Turkey, can be saved.

Part of the pit flooded while the miners were working. They are said to be stuck 300m underground, reports the BBC.

The accident comes less than six months after 301 workers at Soma died in Turkey’s worst mining disaster.

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled his Republic Day celebrations to visit the mine. The PM is also due to go to the scene.

The latest accident has raised further questions about safety at mines in Turkey, which has seen several fatal incidents since 2000.

Emergency workers at Ermenek in southern Karaman province, 400km south of Ankara, have been trying to drain the pit after the mine was flooded by some 11m litres of water.

At least 16 miners managed to escape. One told local media that it was third flood that had taken place at the mine and blamed a lack of safety measures in place.

BDST: 1800 HRS, OCT 29, 2014